


That's My Ghost!

by LizardScalesFairyTales



Category: Dude That's My Ghost!
Genre: Evil Twins, and cultists!, and lots and lots of glitter!, and mystery!, but just in case, get ready for friendship!, murder!, the character death is obvious, this is murder mystery glitterature!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-03-25 12:37:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 85,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13834428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizardScalesFairyTales/pseuds/LizardScalesFairyTales
Summary: Billy clenched his hands into the bed sheets and frowned. "They didn't bury anything, you know that Spence? They held a funeral and everything, and they buried anemptycoffin."Spencer felt his gut twist. "You don't remember being attacked or kidnapped? You just, woke up?" Billy curled in on himself at Spencer's questions and shook his head.





	1. First Episode! Billy's Last Day!

The first thing that graced his awareness was the natural ambiance that came with each morning, leaves rustling, birds singing... Smiling, he lazily pushed off silk sheets and snapped his fingers. A member of his entourage skittered forward, bowing as they presented him with his favorite handheld mirror. 

“Goodmorning beautiful~” He gushed, how could he not? A perfect set of pearly whites answered him back with the most dazzling smile he’d ever seen, smoldering dark eyes that broke hearts as often as they blinked, and spiked, intricately styled black hair that countless would pay hundreds-of-thousands to get a single strand from. 

“Oh brodette, do you know _anyone_ who can wake up looking _this good?_ ” He marveled to a somewhat exhausted looking maid, too enthralled in his own reflection to spare a glance at the magnificent eye roll she gave him. 

“I can’t say I have, _Sir_ …” The maid growled, too preoccupied with trying to clean the absolute disaster that was the hotel room they resided in. 

“I _ **know** , right?_” He sighed, trying out a few of his best expressions in the mirror before handing it back to his faithful attendant, after all, morning facial exercises were a must. Standing, he snapped his fingers again, holding his arms out as a soft robe was draped on his shoulders. He strode forward towards the blinds that blocked out the morning light. As he came closer to the balcony windows, the sweet sound of nature grew louder and louder.

“Can’t keep them waiting, now can I?” He chuckled, yanking the blinds aside, the cheers of the crowd outside growing to new heights. Pulling aside the sliding windows and stepping onto the balcony, (despite the worried protests of his entourage) he greeting the adoring masses with a wave. They couldn't help it, it was him after all, it was only natural they reacted like this.

“ **Tell me who you love, Beverly Heights!** ” He encouraged, over the deafening cheers.

“ _ **Billy! Billy! Billy! Billy! Billy!**_ ” They cheered, said object of adulation holding his hand to his ear good naturedly.

_Dark eyes watched from within the crowd, piercing gaze trained on only Him. They loved it when he did that. He really was in His element, being worshiped just looked natural on Him._

_‘Like music to my ears!’_ Billy thought, laughing. He did a little spin and pose, eliciting more cheers, before leaning as far as he dare (And he _dared_ ) over the balcony, ignoring the cries of distress of his entourage, yelling out,

 _ **“I’m back, baby!”**_

====================================================================

**_Clack Clack Clack_ **

“So let me break it to you easy Sweetheart-”

Red ankle strap pumps, keeping a stern pace with the chaotic rhythm of a schedule only Billy Joe Cobra's Manager could understand. Cold tile floors surrendering beneath them with every calculated step. Billy sometimes wondered if the interior designer of this building avoided carpet floors with those exact heels in mind.

_**Clack Clack Clack** _

“-at 11:15, _today_ honey, not a second later. I don’t care _what_ you say about being fashionably late, we can’t swing it if we don’t land this-”

Black pencil skirt with a diagonal cut just high enough to still be professional and two asymmetrical horizontal white stripes. New enough that if Billy didn’t know any better, he’d think the tag might still be on it, or better yet, that she’d conned the skirt right off the model who first wore it. He wouldn’t be too surprised if the latter were true. She was too precise to leave a tag on, she’d rather be caught dead.

_**Clack Clack Clack** _

“- welcome home concert at 9:30, with guest star Marco Venus! I got him at half price ya’know? Big fan of yours B-man, in fact _he_ told _me_ -”

White wrap blouse that hugged her waist just tight enough to show off a curvy waist, and just loose enough to leave the rest up to the imagination. She wore a new outfit everyday it seemed, the idea of her putting on any item of clothing more than once seem ludacris. It was more than likely that she shopped for new outfits and threw them out after one use, after all, she was Billy Joe Cobra's Manager, she could more than afford it.

_**Clack Clack Clack** _

“-the after party, we’re gonna need you for a photo-shoot and then an interview with this absolute _darling_ of reporter, writes for this chic gossip magazine, and she needs _you_ to make this piece Heartbreaker, can you do that for me? I need you to _wow_ this girl for me, absolutely blow her away, normal friday for you right?”

Red nails the perfectly matched her lipstick, bold in a way that screamed, I can wear this and more and still sell you a million dollar deal. Total confidence and drive in one very determined package. It was one of the things that made Billy trust her honestly, if anyone looked like they really had a handle on showbiz, it was her. 

_**Clack Clack-** _

“Billy?”

Billy finally tuned in, raising his eyebrows in a way he hoped said ‘ I’ve totally been listening to you! Do go on!’ Though, by the look in his Manager's eyes and the growing agitation in her face, he’d failed, horribly.

“Okay Billy, what’s on your mind? Talk to me.” She sighed, massaging her brows for a moment and tapping her foot impatiently. 

Billy pouted, crossing his arms, and looking to the side. “I came back to Beverly Heights for a reason Cammie! All this sched-whatever sounds like a total drag!” Billy huffed, finally looking at his manager with the best ‘I don’t wanna’ face he could muster.

“BJC! Honey! Sweetheart~...We can’t just shut down production cause you came back home! You don’t wanna be yesterday's news, do you?” She said, wrapping an arm around Billy’s shoulders, and walking him into a slow pace alongside her.

“I mean, what do you think your fans will do if you cancel on them, huh? Marco Venus? The Camera guys? That sweet reporter? They _need_ Billy Joe Cobra!” She exclaimed, squeezing his arm urgently, looking faux distressed as she continued.

“The world need your music, your beautiful face, and those _inspiring_ words of yours to keep it turning! I know it’s hard but-” She paused to stop and look at him sympathetically. “It’s the burden you gifted few are cursed to bear…”

Billy looked shocked, before internally cursing himself. Of course! It was so obvious now that it was laid out so clearly for him! He couldn’t just take a day off at the mansion and abandon the world to go Cobra-less! The masses wouldn’t survive, much less forgive him!

“Aww, Cam-Cam! I didn’t even think!” He lamented, running a sorrowful hand down the side of his face dramatically (He was BJC, how else was he supposed to do things?) “All those poor, pathetic Cobra-heads, with no Billy Joe to keep them running! I’m a _**monster!**_ ” He cried, growing teary eyed as he imaged hoards of Cobra enthused fans morning some lame-o concert with no Billy! Marco Venus? He would never satisfy them all, that was a job _only_ BJC could do!

_Quiet feet trailed behind, keeping just behind corners and potted plants, never taking their eyes away from the object of their passion. It was a gift really, to be so close, one they were readily willing to work for._

“That’s why I’m your _Manager_ Billy, I can’t have you doing something you’d regret, now can I? Voice of reason right here B-man, just listen, and you _can’t_ go wrong!” She boasted, looking very pleased with herself. Billy nodded, a smile quickly taking over his previously gloomy expression.

=====================================================================

Scratch out everything he’d thought before, this _**SUCKED!**_ The meeting was supposed to be about his new album, _**Cobra Midnight Magic**_ , but all he could glean from the whole meeting was boring, old people stuff, and numbers. 

‘It’s the burden you have to bear Cobra!’ he thought to himself, trying desperately to at least act interested, but found himself failing miserably. How could anyone honestly think any of this was interesting? He was nearly sleeping where he sat! This _had_ to end!

“-now Mister Cobra, my investment comes with some stipulations, this album of yours needs more than your usual, well, to be frank, overblown yet _vapid_ style.” A large, overtly wealthy looking man snorted, looking extremely full of himself.

He’d had enough! This **tool-box** was not only boring and old, but had the gall to call him...Whatever he’d just called him! Overblown? The Cobra would show **him** _overblown_ …

“Ah...And what would you suggest Mr.Shankly?” Billy’s Manager asked, looking nervously between the investor and Billy, already sensing her clients growing agitation. The rest of the men in the room looked to the man expectantly, as did Billy. ‘Let’s see what this jerk-wad thinks he can come up with.’ Billy thought.

‘Well I’m glad you asked! I had a meeting between the writers in my fold along with myself, and have come up with a much more exciting collection of songs I would like sampled in this album.  
“ Mr.Shankly effused, smiling as if he’d just suggested the advent of sliced bread. He signalled his assistant as she began handing out thin binders filled with said songs.

 _ **“What?!”**_ Billy exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table and standing abruptly. He looked downright insulted, and he **was!**

_“Billy.”_ His Manager said harshly, giving him the evil eye. Billy pouted, giving her the best puppy dog eyes he could muster, still fuming. It ended up looking more like a sad scowl though, and failed. _“Sit.”_ She hissed, and he reluctantly did, though he refused to attempt to look happy, opting to scowl at Shankly instead.

The man in question simply side-eyed him and moved on as if nothing had happened. Billy glared harder, how DARE he? After about a minuet a of glaring, Billy finally picked up the folder, flipping it open in a lackluster fashion. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, scrunching his brows in confusion, he flipped to the next page, then the next, again and again and again. Suddenly it hit him and he burst out laughing. These were all _awful_ , he was pretty sure a four year old could write better in poetry class!

“Is there something you would like to _say_ , Mister Cobra?” Mr Shankly growled, looking _very_ unamused. 

Suddenly, all eyes were on Billy, and for one moment he froze. Then Billy remembered ‘Oh yeah, this is exactly what I needed!’ Smiling, Billy leaned forward, as relaxed as a devil among sinners. 

“Actually no, I don’t got a single thing I wanna say to you Shaw-Shank-Redemption!” He retorted. Before Mr.Shankly could respond, Billy suddenly snapped his fingers, a faithful attendant coming forward and handing him his guitar. Billy smirked, jumping on the table, causing some in the room to gasp, as he prowled forward towards Mr Shankly at the other end the table. “See I’m a singer at heart, words are cheap, but music? It speaks for the soul. So buckle up! Cause I feel a song coming on!”

Billy spun, landed on a pose, and started playing. 

~Frankly, Mr Shankly, this position I've held  
It pays my way and it corrodes my soul  
I want to leave, you will not miss me  
I want to go down in musical history~

~Frankly, Mr Shankly, I'm a sickening wreck  
I've got the 21st century breathing down my neck  
I must move fast, you understand me  
I want to go down in celluloid history, Mr Shankly~ 

~Fame, fame, fatal fame  
It can play hideous tricks on the brain  
But still I rather be famous  
Than righteous or holy,  
any day, any day, any day~

Billy danced and slid around on the conference table, all eyes trained on him. He spared a glance at his Manager, who at the moment, was as awed and amazed as the rest of them. When he stopped his impromptu performance, he might be in for an earful, but for right now, he was a star, _their_ star.

_This was why they did it. Moments like this was what made every grueling hour spent crouching in shrubs or standing in freezing rain worth it. Not just any fan was able to catch moments like these, once in a lifetime performances that they would treasure for the rest of their life._

Billy turned on his heel suddenly, and started towards Mr Shankly himself, who was looking absolutely aghast at the performance, which satisfied Billy just as well. 

~Frankly, Mr Shankly, this position I've held  
It pays my way and it corrodes my soul,  
Oh I didn't realise that you wrote poetry  
I didn't realise you wrote such bloody awful poetry, Mr Shankly~ 

~Frankly, Mr Shankly, since you ask  
You are a flatulent pain in the ass  
I do not mean to be so rude,  
Still I must speak frankly, Mr Shankly,  
Give us money!~

Billy landed on his knees, striking a final pose that would send his fans screaming and paparazzi snapping away. Instead of either of those, he was met with stunned silence. For one frightening moment, Billy wondered if he’d messed up, had he _crossed a line?_ Thankfully, the moment ended as quickly as it came, the meeting goers bursting into a cheering frenzy and clapping with gusto. Billy grinned, stood and began bowing in a way one could mistake as humble (it was not). 

He walked to the end of the table, as his small audience continued clapping, winking at his manager, and paused before he jumped down to spare a sneering glance at Shankly. Then Billy jumped down, sat with legs crossed, took off guitar, handed it back to his attendant, and leaned back. ‘Your turn Shankey’ Billy thought, smiling coyly.

=====================================================================

Billy reclined even further in his plush chair, relaxing as the makeup artist did their work.  
‘This is _exactly_ what I needed’ He thought. After landing that stupid deal, Billy’s Manager chewed him out and then some, just like he’d guessed. Apparently, mocking a billionaire’s horrible music taste wasn’t something you were supposed to do, even in song form.

 _“Lame…_ ”Billy mumbled. It wasn’t like he’d planned it out or anything, that jerk-face had went out of his way to be a total **tool**. “I was doing a _public service!_ Jay-day! I was in the right, right?” He whined, giving his makeup artist his best ‘I’ll-cry-if-you-say-no’ face. Jessie, knowing exactly how much damage a Cobra diva tantrum could do (And the mascara? Don’t even _joke_ , waterproof makeup wasn’t Cobra proof!) put on their best sympathetic smile and did what they always did.

“BC, you can't let the haters get you down! **You** , are a grown man, it’s you who decides what you do with your life. No one else!” they encouraged, tissue on standby, just in case. 

Billy thought the speech through as he always did, and smiled. Why was he all twisted up about some loser from old money anyways? He was **Billy Joe Cobra!** People would be singing his praises thousands of years from now, way after that old turd was dead and gone! And besides, in a few years, he’d be twice as rich as that old fart! His net worth was _already_ as much.

‘You’re right, _as always._ Why do I ever question your inter-stellar advice Jess-dressed?” Billy praised, leaning back as Jessie put some much needed glitter in Billy’s hair. 

_They’d promised themselves when they first began their hobby to never interfere. Good fans don’t run onto the stage and ruin the performance, that was a rule. That didn’t mean they weren’t tempted to at times though. They had always envied the entourage, always nearby by, and able to touch and speak to Him regularly. Meanwhile they had to stay so far away, hiding in the labyrinth that was His costume closet. At least the costumes smelled like Him._

“I don’t know Boo Boo, that’s on you!” they giggled. While they were well aware that Billy was a stuck up man baby, he was still a fun guy. As Billy’s private and most trusted stylist, they were an essential piece of Billy’s entourage, and someone who had the luxury of being called friend by the Cobra himself “Now close your eyes, or do you want a repeat of last week?” they commanded, Billy shuddering before closing his eyes obediently, not at all wanting a repeat of last week. They _still_ hadn’t found all the horses!

After a few quiet moments, there was a pleased hmmimg sound and then-

“There! You look _more_ than perfect B-B. Get out there!” They congratulated, slapping Billy’s back as he stood and pointing him towards the stage. Billy grinned, giving Jessie a wink, and marched forward, ready to set the stage on fire.

“Knock’em dead, killer!” Jessie cheered, knowing they couldn’t be heard over the deafening roars of the crowd as Billy stepped on stage. 

====================================================================

Billy sighed, pleased with his performance and pleasantly surprised at the apparent fan that Marco Venus was. He gave him an autograph at the surprise cobra-heads request and promised a good time at the after party, already planning a bunch of songs to sing for karaoke. He liked the guy, but that didn't mean he wasn't competitive!

“Mister Cobra, can you turn your head a little? I wanna see those eyes of yours Honey.”

Billy compiled, internally groaning as the pose he was striking became more and more uncomfortable. That’s how the camera guys did it. They start out all ‘Oh! Go ahead, get comfortable, we want your natural look!’ and slowly worked you into a position that would kill an olympic gymnast!

“Now lift that leg up a liiiiiiiittle bit mooooooore…….” They coaxed, absentmindedly lifting their hand as well.

Billy winced, breaking character for a moment. “How many moooooooore?” He groaned, he was starting to feel like he’d been here for hours!

“Just one more! C’mon baby! You’re a tiger! Roar for me~” They enthused, trying to excite Billy back into character. 

It was times like these that they wished they could comfort Him. He was doing such a great service, yet the world would never stop asking more of Him. They wanted to give Him everything, but they knew their everything would never be enough for Him. They only hoped He knew just how much the world appreciated what He did. 

“Fineeeee…..” Billy grumbled, taking a deep breath, and hitting the pose with as much energy as he could manage.

_“Beautiful! *Snap* Absolutely dazzling! *Snap Snap* You’re a natural Billy! You’re a Star! *Snaap* ”_

=====================================================================

“Have you ever tried Nutella?”

 _“What?”_ Billy scowled, absolutely not amused by the question. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the worst question, but c’mon! You have The Cobra right in front of you, and you ask ‘Have you tried Nutellen’ or whatever? That was just dumb!

Billy was tired and grumpy, and this interview was not helping. This day was a nightmare! First there was that stupid conference, then he got yelled at, then he’d had the worst photoshoot ever, and now-

“Mister Cobra?” The woman nervously brushed some hair aside and she cocked her head. She had long straw blonde hair, warm brown eyes, and everything about her screamed ‘ I'm doing my best!’. Billy sighed, he’d just have to suck it up and slap on a smile. It wasn’t really this dudettes fault anyway.

“I...can’t say I’ve ever tried it, so nah.” He shrugged, leaning back and trying to bask in the knowledge that this one interview would probably be read my millions, desperate to know more about the Cobra. He was doing a great service, and that weight was to be carried by him alone.

“Alright-” The woman scribbled frantically for a moment before continuing “So I, along with many others, have heard the rumor that you have sworn to a life devoid of a lifelong partner, so my question is. Is that true? And If so, why?” The woman questioned, looking extremely curious.

Now **that** was an interesting question!

“Well…” Billy responded with a small grin and leaned back. “It _is_ true...In a sense…” he conceded, and waited a moment before continuing, internally laughing as the woman sat at the literal edge of her seat.

“I guess it all started when I was seven..” Billy considered “I was still a little squirt of beans back then, and I hadn’t really hit my stride yet. My dad was my manager still too…” He frowned for a moment before continuing.

“He took me to Tokyo, where I’d end up performing with this Pop idol named Minami-tsunami! She was great! Really sweet, had no trouble working with a hyper little kid like me!” Billy chuckled, remembering how annoyed everyone had been with him, even his dad. The only one who laughed and acted kindly towards him no matter what had been Minami.

“One day, we were doing costume practice, trying out our outfits for the first time. I was adorabro, _obviously_ , but Minami...She was beautiful.” He smiled, remembering it as the first time he’d ever thought that about a person. A part of him wondered if maybe he should have thought that about his mom, but he could barely remember what she looked like, even back then, much less know if she was beautiful.

“So then we practice our dancing and singing right? But _all_ I can think is ‘She’s the prettiest person I’ve ever seen!’ so I wait for practice to finish, then I go to her and I say-” Billy suddenly snorted, giggling and covering his face with a hand. 

“Augh! It’s so dumb…” He mumbles past his hand before shaking his head mournfully and letting out another breathy laugh. 

“And I say, seven years old to this twenty something woman ‘Minami, you’re so pretty! Will you marry me?”

Billy can’t hold it in anymore he laughs, covering his face with one hand. He wouldn’t admit it on pain of death, but he was kind of embarrassed, at least of his younger self. The woman interviewing him had different thoughts.

“Awwwwww! That’s super cute~” She coos, obviously imagining a little heartbreaker in the making asking such a silly question.

“Yeaaah well…” Billy sighed, relaxing a bit, now that the embarrassing part was over. He could still remember the mix of adoration and slight pity in Minami's eyes when he’d asked her. It made sense, but that didn’t mean he’d liked it.

“That’s pretty much what she did too. I got all emotional over it though, and she had to give me a hug to get me to stop crying. Then I asked ‘why Minami?’ and her response surprised me”

This was the part that hit him, he could still remember it clear as day. “She said ‘In Japan, Idols can’t get married, and they can’t go on dates, and they can’t have sex.’ and mini me was shocked! I was like, ‘Why Minami? Doesn't that make you sad?’ and she’s all ‘Nope, because my fans would be even sadder if I did those things! My fans love me Billy, and to show them I love them too, I can’t pick favorites.’ “

The interviewer look thoughtful before asking “So what did you do then?” 

“Well, I told Minami ‘Well, then I’ll wait till we’re both really old and ugly, and no one loves us, then we can get married!’ and, yeah, Minami thought that was funny too.” Billy shrugged, as the interviewer giggled, sitting up before continuing.

“After that, my dad told me the rest, how in Japan, it was less a way of life and more a strict rule that idols can’t do any romancing. I felt bad for Minami, so I started doing it too, course, as we all know, I've repeatedly broken one of those rules. Still! These days, I do it because, well…” Billy paused, taking a breath before continuing.

“I love my fans, like no joke. Everything great about me wouldn’t matter if there wasn’t fans to enjoy it, ya’know? And I see everyone as a potential fan, the haters, the bros who know nothing about me yet, other stars, everyone. At this point, I don’t think I can really stick with just one person because…I can’t just love _one_ person, ya’know? Just like I can’t choose just one thing about me that makes me great. You wouldn't want a piece, you’d want the whole package! It’s the same with me.”

_They were tired of waiting, they were tired of only watching. This was the last straw! No one loved Him as much as they did! No one cared about Him as much as them. No one appreciated Him the way they did, and no one ever could. The menu in their hands covering their face was tearing, but they didn’t care. They were done watching._

The woman was writing furiously, the sound of pen against paper the only thing heard against the silence. Then she stopped. Pausing to pull some hair behind her ear she glanced up at Billy with a smile.

“Billy, my name is Holly Wood, Writer for the Beverly Heights Highlights, and I have one last question. Would you like to get a drink with me? You look like you could use a break.”

Billy’s brain stalled for a moment, before the situation caught up to him, he smiled, stood, and held his hand out invitingly.

“Why Miss Wood, I thought you’d never ask!”

=====================================================================

 

Billy yawned, stretching in the backseat of his limo, and looked out the window as he neared his final destination. Holly had been really nice, and fun to chat with too. She had a brother who was a fan and after inviting him to hang out they’d hit it off as well. After Ash had suggested they all go to his place for cartoons, Billy had had a fun time watching some rad animated flicks and finally, had a _very_ enjoyable time with Ash and Holly in Ash’s bed. Billy had alway liked Tempurpedic!

Despite the fun times, Billy was tired, and he just wanted to hang at his place, maybe swing by his after party, and sleep. ‘I really _do_ need a few days off’ He thought as the limo slowed. Finally he could see it. His beautiful mansion, “Mi Cobra Casa!” he cheered, hurriedly opening the car door the minute the car slowed enough for it to be non life endangering. 

“Do you want some company?!” Jessie called out from the limo, looking worried, but hesitant.

“Nah!” Billy responded “You just head over to the after party J-bird! I’m just gonna catch a few Z’s, maybe swing by later!” He didn’t stop walking, opting to instead walk backwards towards the entrance of his lovely abode while he spoke. 

“Alright! You call if you need anything, kay?” Jessie said, giving Billy one of their I’m-concerned-about-you-don’t-make-me-regret-it, glares. Billy laughed, waving goodbye before turning toward his house.  
He’d admit he’d been a bit off after his photoshoot, but Jessie was seriously overreacting. Things weren’t that different, at least, Billy hoped so. ‘I just need a break...’ he thought, and not a simple nap either, a real, honest to goodness vacation! He’d more than earned it, and honestly, he was starting to feel like he was being run ragged. After a week vacay, he’d be back and better than ever!

“The world can live through a week or two without the Cobra, if the Cobra needs a week or two!” He exclaimed to no one in particular as he stopped at his front door. 

“And besides…”He reasoned, fishing in his pockets for his keys. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

_**Their eyes stayed trained on him as he makes his way to the door. They’d tried to be patient, they’d tried to be kind, but the time for try was over. There was only do. They closed the blinds to the second floor window and prepared themselves. It was time for a change.** _

Billy smiled, now resolute in his plan, he couldn’t wait! He unlocked the door, then leaned forward as he reached for the doorknob to get inside.

Click

 

=====================================================================

**Billy died.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song I used for Billy's spite filled performance is called, Frankly Mr Shankly. Considering Billy's a famous singer and all the songs we hear he's popular for in the show are probably written by him, I wanted to showcase his talent in an impromptu performance. I'm no song writer, so the songs I use will be credited in these notes. In this universe, just assume Billy wrote them unless otherwise specified. I like making Billy sing, so I will do it often when he appears!


	2. Second Episode! Spencer's Last Day!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Spencer Wright?”
> 
> Spencer stopped dragging his squeaky sneakers for a moment. He was sure someone had said his name, but he’d never heard the voice before. Spencer turned to scope out who could have called his name when-

The first thing that came his awareness was the natural ambiance that came with each morning, the neighbors fighting, crows cawing... Groaning, he hurriedly pushed off zombie themed blankets and looked at his alarm clock. 6:30, he barely had time to get to the bus stop!

“Life is suffering...” He rasped, how could he not? It should be illegal to make people wake up at six in the morning to catch a bus! He sighed, stumbling to the bathroom and started brushing his teeth. He’d caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and decided to do himself a favor and wait till later to brave that trail again. He caught sight of his sister walking to her room and laughed. She had a fruit loop on her chin.

“Oh my gosh Jessica, are you trying out a new way to scare off your opponents?” He teased to a annoyed looking sister, too amused with her embarrassment to comprehend the beatings her eyes screamed she had in store for him. 

“Actually I _am_ Spenturd, it’s _called_ …” Jessica growled, wiping her chin and positioning her arm to punch his lights out. 

“Did I say scare?” He interrupted, quickly wiping his face of toothpaste and inching towards the door. Squeezing by his monster of a sister he gave her a weak smile and quickly slid by her. “I meant…” Crud, he couldn’t think of anything! Abort! **Abort!**

“Ya’know what? I think I hear mom calling! Can’t keep her waiting, now can I?” He squeaked, running out of sight and counting his lucky stars she hadn’t had time to give him a black eye. He rushed to his room, got dressed, snatched his backpack, and headed to the kitchen for some much needed breakfast. He knew he shouldn't tease his sister, especially when she still hadn't had her morning coffee yet, but he couldn't help it. They were siblings, it was only natural he’d reacted the way he had.

 **“Hey mom I’m heading out soon!”** He called, just in case his mom wanted to wish him a good day or something.

 _ **“See you after school sweetie! I love you Spencer!”**_ His mom called back from his parents room. She was obviously still tired from working late again, it made sense she’d wanna stay in bed.

 _‘I just wish she didn't have too.’_ Spencer thought, sighing. He looked at his vampire themed watch to see it was 6:45 and groaned again. He reached into the cupboard, grabbed a packet of pop tarts, and ran to the door, yelling out,

 **“I’ll be back after school!”**

=====================================================================

_**Squeak Squeak Squeak** _

“So then _I_ said ‘I can do whatever I want _**Mom**_ , you can't-”

Amy Parkerson, resident cool girl, Spencer could recall all three times they’ve spoken. Spencer could _also_ recall every time she’d insulted him. It was also three times.

_**Squeak Squeak Squeak** _

“-I mean, what kind of loser _does that?_ He thinks, just cause he makes _one_ crappy short film about the apocalypse or whatever, he suddenly thinks he’s Yeon Sang-ho! Well, I’m curious just to see how he reacts to _actual_ filming talent, I’m making this groundbreaking -”

Joseph Pareti, snobby, rich, jerk-extraordinaire! Spencer **knew** he was talking about him too! He’d even glared at him when he’d said Yeon Sang-ho, ‘Like I don’t know who that is, or something!’ Spencer thought, huffing in disdain. Still, he didn’t regret joining film club. It was literally the only opportunity for him to get his hands on a camera that actually worked! He was way too poor to afford a hand held camcorder, and he’d tried to save up! So film club was all he had, even if the critics were stuck up tools like Joseph.

_**Squeak Squeak Squeak** _

“- and I don’t want to hear another word about it! He wasn’t _trying_ to be sexist, he was _joking_. Boys will do that Amanda, you just have to _grow_ up and take it like a man! Now I-”

Amanda Smith, she was actually pretty nice. Which kind of sucked for her, considering nice was all but explicitly banned in this awful school. The teacher yelling at her was a great example, I mean, if you can’t trust the school counselor, who can you trust? Spencer had tried to be friends with her in the beginning of the school year, but then she’d started a school campaign on ‘Eliminating Sexual Harassment in the Classroom’ and he’d kinda bailed. He’d like to say he was brave and stood up for the little guy (or girl in this instance) but after the guys at school had started beating him up for handing out posters with her, he just given up. He still felt bad whenever he thought about, but he didn’t think she’d forgive him for abandoning her. Maybe feeling guilty was all he was good for.

_**Squeak Squeak Squeak** _

“-my dad said I could get a new one tomorrow anyway. I don’t get why it’s such a big deal for some people? Like, just ask your parents for a loan, that’s what my dad does. I already got a position for part time at my dad's business next year, so I can just work it off. It’s not _hard_ to find a job if you're a hard worker, ya know?”

Dirk Richman, aptly named for being a total dick, spending his dad's cash like chuck-e cheese tokens and being an _inconsiderate_ prick. This guy thinks he’s so responsible cause his _dad_ is giving him a job? **As _if!_** Meanwhile, Spencer was stressing about working at a local Mickey D’s the minute he turned 16 so his family could finally afford year round heating! And the worst part? Spencer just **knew** with his luck, that twenty years from now, he’d find himself _working_ for this self important idiot!

_**Squeak Squeak-** _

“Spencer Wright?”

Spencer stopped dragging his squeaky sneakers for a moment. He was sure someone had said his name, but he’d never heard the voice before. Spencer turned to scope out who could have called his name when-

_**RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG-!** _

Spencer jumped in surprise, forgetting for a moment that the school bell meant class was starting. Kids and teachers alike ran to their respective classrooms in hoards, rudely bumping and pushing Spencer, until he too, started to head to class. Whoever had called him couldn't be that important anyway. 

 

=====================================================================

He absolutely **hated _MATH CLASS!_** Of all the classes he’d have be assigned for first period, this was the absolute worst choice! Even long hated gym, would probably be better than this. He blamed his stupid schedule for his bad math grades, he was still waking up darn it! He couldn’t be mathing while his brain was still starting up! Even paying attention was exhausting, he was _really_ trying, but all he could glean from the lecture was boring, geometry stuff, and numbers. 

‘Do it for Mom and Dad Spencer!’ he thought to himself, trying desperately to at least act interested, but found himself failing miserably. How could anyone honestly think any of this was interesting? He nearly sleeping where he sat! This would **never** end!

“-now all triangles can contain these three types of angles. Does anyone know the names of these angles? Anyone? Spencer, can you stand and tell me, what three angles triangles can contain?” Spencer's scrawny, anal math teacher challenged.

Crap, he hadn’t been listening to a thing! That **tool-box** knew he hadn’t been listening either, that smug look said it all! Spencer knew he should be used to the “make an example of him’ treatment, but he was always caught off guard.

“Uh...Um...I don’t really think...?”Spencer tried, looking nervously between his teacher and his math book, praying that his teacher would have mercy, or maybe the math book would have the answers? If only he’d had it open, or actually read through it a bit more ‘I’ll do all my homework on time from now on, just please have mercy!’ Spencer thought.

‘We’re all aware Mr. Wright, but _please_ do try.” His teacher mocked, smiling as if he’d just invented the first knock knock joke. He signalled for Spencer to go ahead, seemingly unaware of his students laughing at Spencer.

 _ **“Fine!”**_ Spencer growled slamming his hands on his desk and standing abruptly. He looked flustered, and he **was!**

Spencer looked at writing on the board for a clue or something. It couldn’t be that hard right? It was about triangles, he could wing it and probably get it easy! 

As Spencer continued to sift through his thoughts, a strange tapping noise caught his attention. He ignored it, he really didn’t need any distractions right now. Still, the tapping sound grew a louder and more insistent.

“We’re all waiting Spencer. What’s your answer?” His teacher drawled, looking very amused. 

Suddenly, all eyes were on window, and for one moment he almost turned to look as well. Then Spencer remembered ‘Oh yeah, this is exactly what I needed!’ Smiling, Spencer quickly skimmed through his math book and found the page on angles. 

“Ah, Mister Tanner, I think I have the answer!” He called, before his teacher could turn to look and respond, Spencer ran up to the board and wrote down ‘Acute, Obtuse, Right Angle. “See?”

Spencer turned to look at his fellow classmates, only to see everyone had gotten up and run to the window, completely blocking whatever was on the other side.

Spencer scowled in confusion. What was the big deal anyway? He then sighed, went back to his desk, and started doodling.

He could hear the other students chattering about ‘Some dude outside’ and other dumb stuff. Honestly, he couldn’t care less. With his luck, some maniac was here to shoot up the school.

Spencer started drawing a rotting zombie chasing after a screaming woman, thoughts wandering to his next short film. Joseph was a jerk, but maybe doing another zombie film would label him as some one trick pony. Maybe vampires? A Werewolf one might be pretty cool. 

As he continued to brainstorm, uncaring and unaware of the window commotion, his teacher pulled out his phone, calling the campus police to take out a ‘Possible threat’ on the east side of the school.

=====================================================================  
Spencer placed his backpack on a seat that wasn’t still covered in lunch crumbs from yesterday. ‘I’m _starving._ ’ He thought. After the teacher had made all his classmates sit back down and saw Spencer had gotten the answer correct, he’d still chewed him out! Apparently he‘d forgotten the straight angle, _even though those weren’t mentioned in the math book._ He’d said _three_ angles!

 _“Lame_ …”Spencer mumbled. It wasn’t like he was a disruptive kid or anything, that jerk-face just went out of his way to be a total **tool**. “I answered the question _correctly_! Jeez! Shouldn’t he be praising me or something?” He whined, sitting up and making his way to the lunch line. He hopped they were serving pizza today. It was the only thing they served at school that was even remotely edible.

“Spencer, you can't let the haters get you down! No one uses math in real life anyway! I’m becoming a director, and the only counting I’ll be doing is _down_ from 3!” he told himself, even if his grades and parents told him differently. 

Spencer thought the speech through, and frowned. Why was he always getting messed with? He was just trying to get by, however lame that sounded. People just seemed to go out of their way to be tools to him and anyone who tried to make this toxic cesspool more livable.

‘What are the actual chances I actually become a director anyways?” Billy sighed, finally advancing enough in the lunch the line to get a food tray. Spencer was disappointed to find it was not pizza day, and had to settle for gravy and meatballs. As he was about to leave to sit down, a hand was grabbing his arm and jerking him back abruptly.

“Wait a second. Spencer Wright, right?” A lunch lady asked. They looked angry, which made Spencer nervous. He was just trying to eat. What could he have possibly done wrong to make the lunch lady's mad? “Did you know your lunch account has run out of money?” they accused, Spencer freezing before shaking his head no, he’d had no idea. Considering his parents income, it wasn't too surprising.

After a few moments, the lunch lady snatched the tray from Spencer's hands, went back to the food area and came back with a new tray, filled with nothing but a milk carton and a peanut butter sandwich. Spencer frowned, but didn’t comment on the serious downgrade. As he turned to walk back to his bag, he found himself being jerked back by the arm again, his hand being grabbed and then-

“There! This stamp will help you remember to ask your parents to refill your account!” They instructed, slapping Spencer’s back as he stumbled forward, extremely embarrassed, not only by the stamp, but the volume of the lunch lady's voice. Spencer groaned, giving the lunch lady a small scowl, and trudged forward, trying to ignore the whispers and mocking tones of those around him.

“You can’t get seconds either!” The lunch lady called out over the crowd, knowing they could be heard over the entire cafeteria as Spencer slumped onto his seat. 

====================================================================

Spencer yawned, tired, and now hungry, the day seemed to be lasting forever. He’d sat alone at lunch, trying to swallow down a disturbingly dry PB&J with nothing but one carton of milk that was a day away from going sour. It sucked. He wasn’t even allowed to get an extra carton of milk, what, with all the lunch lady's side eyeing him like he was some kind of criminal.

“Spencer can you read this paragraph for the class, please?”

Spencer compiled, internally groaning at the passage as he read. It was full of those old timey phrases that made understanding it difficult.

“That was very good! How about the second line of page 35’s poem?” His teacher coaxed, smiling approvingly at his delivery of the passage.

Spencer smiled, nodding as he read the next paragraph “I dream sometimes of a better world, but each day, I face adversity and fight against the minions of hell. I live, I breathe, yet sometimes my mind cannot comprehend and I fail to see.” He’d always kinda enjoyed dramatic reading, and he’d gotten pretty good at it, having to star in his own movies so often. 

“How about one more? The next line please, Spencer” The teacher enthused, seeming to enjoy Spencer's reading style. 

“Thus, it is as if I am a ghost, caught in the presence of my existence and my time. Voices cry out into the night, screams through the darkness fall silent on this soul’s plight.” Spencer mock lamented, taking a deep breath after, and finally sitting down.

“That was very well done! Thank you Spencer. ” The teacher praised, before turning back to board and continuing with the reading lesson.

=====================================================================

“Have you thought of a short film concept yet?”

“What?” Spencer jolted, caught off guard by the question. He’d allowed his mind to wander again, and hadn’t been listening to Joseph prattle on about whatever boring black and white movie he was planning on making next.

Spencer was tired and grumpy, and film club was where he went to relax and talk about his interests. It was sad, but the kids here were the closest thing he had to friends, even if they all thought he was a joke.

“Spencer?” Amanda snapped, brushing some hair aside as she glared at him. Spencer rolled his eyes, before standing up. She didn’t even _like_ film, she had no reason to act all high and mighty.

“I...can’t say I have, so no, not yet.” He shrugged, trying to play it cool, even if he and the word ‘cool’ fit together as well as a jenga block and a jigsaw puzzle. He was working on it, but he just hadn’t found his muse yet.

“Fine, whatever-” Amy groaned , acting as if this was some arduous trial for her as she stood up. “So I, along with the rest of the film club, have been thinking about taking a field trip to this museum near Beverly Heights in the next few months. I was wondering if you could, like, afford to come too?” Amy questioned, looking mockingly curious.

Now **that** was a low blow! 

“Well…” Spencer responded with a nervous frown and hunched forward. “Would I have to pay for just food or...transportation too…?” he questioned, and waited a moment before continuing, internally cursing at Amy. She knew he was poor and now she was trying to _use_ that to exclude him from the club even _more?_

“I mean my parents might be able to…-” Spencer began, before suddenly finding himself in total darkness. He frowned for a moment before trying to look around. There was some light peeking out from the window blinds, but other than that, is seemed all the lights in the school had gone out.

“What, did the school forget to pay the light bill?” Spencer chuckled, remembering how just last month, one of the boys bathrooms had been unusable for weeks because the school refused to pay for repairs.

“Shut up Spencer! What is **happening?!** ” Amy cried out, sounding panicked and pretty freaked out. Spencer could hear a chair being turned over in the direction he last saw Joseph, along with a concerning thunking sound coming from Amanda's direction.

“Just calm down! It's probably just a blackout, no need to _freak out!_ ” Spencer yelled, he was trying to be comforting, but he was pretty sure he could hear Amanda hyperventilating. 

“Augh! I dropped my glasses!…” Joseph wailed, knocking over another chair. 

“Everybody just needs to stop moving around for a second and _**calm, down**_. Look, any second the office intercom will tell us what's up, okay guys?” Spencer appeased, eyes already adjusting to the dark as he scanned the room for Amanda, Amy, and Joseph.

Suddenly the intercom crackled, startling even Spencer, and began relaying a message in a robotic voice.

“All faculty, students and staff, please remain inside your respective class rooms, lock your doors, and stay quiet. This is not a drill, there is an intruder inside the school premises, and should not be approached under _any_ circumstances.” the voice relayed in all it’s monotone glory.

“Ooooooookayyyyy then…” Spencer sighed, a small shred of panic, wiggling its way into his gut as the message began to repeat again. So he’d been wrong! He could still do his best to follow school protocol and maybe, if he prayed just right and wished upon a star, the others would cooperate. After a few more repeats of the message, everything fell quiet. And then-

 _ **“Oh My God! WE’RE GONNA DIE!!!”**_ screamed Joseph, somehow managing to knock over three more chairs in his panic.

This was what Spencer had expected, yet he still planted his face firmly in his hands and let out a long, loud groan for a moment anyway. Around him he could hear Joseph screaming, Amy panicking, and Amanda definitely having a panic attack. Spencer rubbed his face, took a deep breath, and- **“ALRIGHT! _SIT! DOWN!“_**

A suddenly as the noise had started, it stopped. “Thank you! Now! I’m gonna do roll call, then we assign tasks, o.k?” 

“Why do you get to-” Amy started to object.

“Because **SOMEONE** , is the only person in the room _not_ acting like a chicken with their head cut off, _Amy_. So **shut it**.” Spencer barked, taking a breath before continuing.

“Look I know you’re all scared and I _get that_ , okay? But if we wanna go home to laugh about this tomorrow, we _all_ have to clear our heads, and _work together_. Now, since I know Amy’s here, Joseph? You good?”

After a small pause Joseph spoke “...Y-Yeah…”

Spencer smiled, even though no one could see with how dark it was. “Good, Amanda?”

A longer pause and nothing, “Amanda? If you can’t talk, hit something, o.k?

Another pause and then- _ ***Thump Thump***_

Spencer made his way over to a seemingly empty table, then crouched down to look under after spotting a familiar pair of shoes poking out from underneath. “Amanda? Are you having trouble breathing? Do you need your inhaler?” Spencer whispered, not wanting to scare the girl. 

She looked at him with wide eyes, wheezing before nodding vigorously. Spencer stood and pointed to Amy. “Amy! Get Amanda's inhaler from her bag! Joseph! Go make sure the door is locked!” He commanded, kneeling down again to keeping an eye on Amanda.

Joseph ran to the door, checking the locks several times before calling back “They’re locked now!”

Amanda was rifling through Amanda’s bag, but seemed agitated. “I can’t find it!” She fretted, unzipping more pockets in her search. “Just keep looking!” Spencer called back.

Spencer thought hard, trying to remember what it was his dad said to do when someone was having trouble breathing. “Amanda?” Spencer coaxed “I need you to get up out from under there, o.k? Just sit down up here. It’ll help I promise.” He smiled reassuringly, hoping she could see, and held his hand out to help her up. She hesitated, then nodded and stood, then sat in the chair he pulled up for her.

“Now, uh, lean your head back and…” Spencer paused to think for a moment. “ Close your mouth, o.k? Now breath through your nose, _slowly_. Close your eyes too, try to relax.” Amanda complied, gently breathing in through her nose. “Good! Now, slowly breath out until you can’t anymore, o.k? _Hold it_...count to three...then rinse and repeat. Just keep that up until Amy finds your inhaler. You’re doing great!”

Amanda was finally looking relaxed, which was a relief, because Spencer was one more disaster away from a nervous breakdown. “Did you find it?” Spencer breathed, not realizing how tense he’d been until now.

“No, I’m sorry…” Amy sighed, walking over and handing him a thoroughly searched bag. Joseph walked over to Spencer as well, plopping down on one of the chairs he hadn’t knocked over, and groaning. 

They all collectively sighed, Spencer continuing to keep an eye on Amanda. 

“Thanks Spencer.” Amy mumbled, shocking Spencer out of his already drifting thoughts.

“Yeah, thank you Spencer…” Joseph conceded, giving him an appreciative nod before leaning back and closing his eyes. 

A part of Spencer wanted to respond, be he honestly had no idea what to say, so he kept his mouth shut. 

“You’re pretty cool when you want to be, dork.” Amanda suddenly interjected, shocking Spencer, along with Amy and Joseph.

Before anyone could speak, the intercom screeched to life with another message. 

“All faculty, students and staff, you may now exit your respective class rooms, unlock your doors, and leave school property. This is not a drill, Please contact you guardians or spouses and have them pick you up, as the intruder has still not been found. I repeat, have your respective parental guardians pick you up to go _straight_ home.”

Spencer’s brain stalled for a moment, before the situation caught up to him, he smiled, stood, and picked up his school bag.

“Didn’t I tell you? We made it guys, let’s go home!”

=====================================================================

Spencer was **_terrified_**. The walk home had started normally enough. He’d tried to call his parents, but they were both working right now, his sister was already home, and told him mom would be coming home in about a half hour like always, but Spencer didn’t want to loiter around the school for a half hour waiting for his mom to finally come home. It was times like these he wished the rest of his family had mobile phones. They had only been able to afford one for his dad, the rest of the family having to share their land line, but now, walking home alone after the scare at school, he was wishing he’d begged for one harder. 

This wasn’t the first time Spencer had had to walk home, but it certainly was the first time he’d done it under these circumstances. After leaving school grounds, he’d felt a bit more safe, after all, the intruder had been seen around the school specifically. The likelihood that some weird dude would pick Spencer out of every other kid leaving school was minimal at best. At least, that was what he told himself. While he’d been able to keep his cool at school, he was tired, and hungry, and it was starting to wear on him. He didn’t think he could survive getting attacked by some crazy guy in an ally.

So, when he’d suddenly become painfully aware of the second pair of footsteps follow far behind him, Spencer was justifiably _**freaked out**_. He didn’t run of course, because he still wasn’t completely sure this was a psycho stalker. What if it was just some random citizen, totally unaware of their somewhat threatening presence? Or another kid? Spencer hadn’t braved looking over his shoulder yet, so this guy could be walking on his hands for all he knew. Still, picking up the pace wouldn't hurt.

“Just don’t make it _obvious_ …” He mumbled to himself, turning the corner, hoping against hope that the totally-not-a-psycho-kidnapper would not follow. Of course, they did, keeping up with Spencer easily, even as Spencer's pace picked up. 

Spencer finally decided to brave taking a glance behind him and _immediately_ regretted it. This guy looked like serious business. If you looked up ‘A man on a mission” online, this guy's picture would pop up because, he looked downright determined.

“Determined to see his son for the first time!” Spencer whispered to himself enthusiastically. “Or, to visit his father after years of estrangement!” 

Despite the positive reinforcement, Spencer started counting the space between them by feet. If this guy got within ten feet then he’d run! Good plan! Solid plan! Unless (Or until) that happened, he’d just walk, totally normal, not at all freaked out. Spencer glanced behind him and and started counting.

_**Step Step Step** _

“Twenty feet…” He mumbled, pace consistent and what he hoped looked confident.

_**Step Step Step** _

“Seventeen feet.” He counted, not at all pleased with the change, trying to force himself to keep with his slow stride.

_**Step Step Step** _

“Fourteen feet.” Why? Why was he getting closer? Why wasn’t he turning toward another path or slowing down or anything?

_**StepStepStepStepStep!** _

“Thirteen...Eleven-”

_**“Spencer Wright!”** _

_“Nope!”_ Spencer yelped, sprinting as fast as he could. He hoped this guy wasn’t a psycho who jogged often, or he was screwed. Spencer skidded around a corner, running over grass and squeezing between two buildings, rushing towards the first house he saw.

“ _Help!_ Please let me in! Some psycho is _after_ me! _**Help!**_ ” He yelled, banging against the doors of a few people houses before running again. This guy wasn’t Usain Bolt, but he really didn't need to be with all the noise Spencer was making. He couldn’t waste time trying to find shelter in this neighborhood, they didn’t even trust mailmen around here, he wasn’t going to risk his life hoping he’d be more lucky. 

Spencer's heart leap to his throat when he made the mistake of looking back. This guy was way to close! He needed to get some space between them, or it wouldn’t matter if he got to his apartment, he’d be caught before he even took out the keys! Spencer ran to a nearby bike rack, snatched a bike he’d noticed was never locked properly, and peddled like his life depended on it.

**_“Spencer Wright! Wait!”_ **

Spencer wondered if anyone actually fell for that one. ‘Oh! Of course, let me just get a blindfold and I’ll get in your nice white van myself!’ Did he look that stupid? Spencer peddled faster and actually started tearing up at the sight of his apartment. He was almost there! The second he was within running distance, Spencer jumped off the bike and sprinted towards the door, scrambling for his key and unlocking the door with shaky hands.

**_“Spencer, it concerns your family!”_ **

Spencer didn’t bother looking back, yanking the door open and slamming it behind him. He felt tempted to mock the dude, but he wasn’t going to rest until he was in his room, and safe. He ran up the stairs, making it up two flights of stairs before hearing the tell tale signs of the entrance door opening.  
“No!” Spencer gasped, running up the last flight of stairs, all to aware of the thundering foot steps behind him. How’d he get in?! Spencer was starting to feel the strain all this running was putting on his body, but opted to ignore it favor of more running. He was going to live dammit! He barely registered running headfirst into his apartment door hard enough to bruise, instead fumbling with his keys and rushing inside.

“Jessica!” He cried out, locking the door and looking through the peephole frantically. If she was outside practicing her taekwondo kicks on the old oak in the back, he’d have a whole new set of problems to deal with. 

“What?!” Jessica yelled back, looking a little worried as she stepped into the entryway and looked her brother over. “Are you o.k?” Spencer's eyes started to tear up again as the situation hit him, he was being chased by someone, a _real_ someone. This was _real!_

“Jessica, call mom! There’s, there’s someone chasing me!” He gasped, leaning against the door a bit as he caught his breath. “Tell her-”

Spencer suddenly found himself in his mom's arms, finding it both relieving and surprising at the same time. “Spencer what’s happening? What’s wrong?!” He hugged her back of a moment before pushing her away.

“What are you doing here?!” Spencer blurted out. “Jessica said you weren’t getting off work for another half hour!”

“My boss told me the school had called him to pick up his son after a lock down, so he informed me I was allowed to cut my work short for today. I went to pick you up but you weren’t there so I came home! Spencer what’s happening?” His Mother explained, looking distressed. He internally groaned at his own stupidity, if he’d only waited for his mom this would have never happened!

“Mom, there’s-” _***Thump Thump Thump!***_ “Gah!” He jumped away from the door like It’d electrocuted him. He’d been found!

“Get away from the door!” Spencer warned, backing away from it cautiously, who knew if this guy had a gun, or was planning on going ‘Here’s Johnny!’ on their door! His mom looked worried as she backed away, pulling Jessica to her side.

_**“Spencer, please open the door!”** _

“Who is that Spencer?” His mom cried out, looking to her son. She was slowly looking more and more frantic as the mystery man continued pounding on the door.

“I don’t know! He was following me, and then he started chasing me and calling my name! We didn’t really get acquainted mom!” Spencer ranted, he really had no idea, it wasn’t like he’d invited the guy over!

_**“Jane Wright? Please open the door! This concerns your family!”** _

_“Why does he know my name?!”_ His mom stage whispered, looking a mix between accusing and scared. 

**“Listen man!”** Spencer called out, ignoring his mom's question in favor of trying to look for some freaking answers. **“I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to chill out!”** He yelled, wondering for a brief moment what his neighbors thought of all the commotion they were causing. **“First off, why do you know our names?”**

After halting his knocking, man cleared his throat and said “I’m on official court business to locate and inform the Wright family of some very important documents!” The mystery weirdo responded curtly. As Spencer braved looking through the peep hole in the door, he realized the man was actually really well dressed, he hadn’t really noticed, running for his life and all. 

“What kind of documents?” Spencer pressed, feeling a little less on edge then he did before. On closer inspection, the dude looked pretty harmless, although, that was kind of the point for kidnapper and murderers. They didn’t tend to stick out in real life. 

“I’m sorry Spencer, but I’d have to speak with your mother or father before I could really expand on that.” The stranger explained, sounding apologetic. “Preferably, face to face.” He continued

“And why should we trust you?” Jessica interrupted, shoving Spencer off the peep hole to take a look herself. “You chased after my brother like some kind of weirdo! Why shouldn’t we just call the cops on your sorry, well dressed a-” Before she could finish Spencer slapped a hand over her mouth, glaring at her for interrupting him.

“How do we know you're not dangerous?” Spencer asked, glaring through the peep hole. Mystery man paused for a moment before he slowly began to turn with his hands up, lifting his jacket and turning out his pockets.

“I’m completely unarmed! All I want, is to deliver this-” He pulled out an envelope, putting it close to the peephole for Spencer to read. It had their family name on it, but Spencer was still nervous.

He turned to his mom and sister, taking a few deep breaths to clear his head and wipe his eyes (he refused to cry!), before nodding to them both. “I’m gonna let him in.” He announced, looking to his mom for confirmation. He wouldn’t do anything without knowing she was o.k with it too. She looked worried for a moment before seeming to steel herself, and gave him a terse nod. He looked to his sister to find her with a kitchen knife already in her hands, giving him a thumbs up. 

“O.k!” Spencer called out, “We’re letting you in! But you better be telling the truth or so help me I will haunt you for the rest of eternity!” He threatened, taking in a shaky breath as he walked over to the door.

‘My mom and sister are with me…’He reasoned, slowly unlocking the door. ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

Spencer clenched his jaw, now resolute in his decision. He leaned forward as he reached for the doorknob to get let the Mystery Man inside.

_Click_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing about Spencer's home life! I decided that Spencer's character would have a lot more depth if the divide between his life before Beverly Heights and after had more contrast. I think it'll even out Billy's overtly lavish lifestyle with a little dose of harsh reality. Shout out to all the kids who've experienced at least one of the cruddy things Spencer experienced on his last day!


	3. Third Episode! Spencer's First Day!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Mom, when do you think we're getting there?" He asked, feeling more upbeat than before, finally allowing himself to be just a little bit excited about all this.
> 
> " Well I can't be sure sweetie, I've never been to Billy's mansion bef-Oh wait! I think that might be it kids!" It mom exclaimed, looking back at them happily as she turned another corner. What Spencer saw was both expected and absolutely not at the same time.

He still couldn't really believe it. Spencer eyes were glued to the rollings hills and and opulent mansions scattered across the scenery of Beverly Heights, idly pinching his arm, unable to tear his eyes away. It just felt like any second, some game show host would spring out of nowhere and tell him it was all some kind of elaborate joke. Spencer had only packed all his stuff because he'd still been in shock. Who wouldn't be, after the news his family had received?

Spencer's Mother, was apparently a close friend and god cousin to Billy Joe Cobra? Even in his thoughts it felt more like a question than reality. Why hadn't she told them? Or at least spoken about it, like, 'Oh, by the way, I'm down with The Cobra.' or something? How did they even count as family anyway? Didn't god cousin mean they weren't even technically related? And why the heck now? Billy Joe Cobra had been declared deceased three years ago! Why weren't they told then?

"Spencer, you've been really quiet, what's wrong?" His mom worried, turning the car slowly around the corner, trying to not bump into the security vehicles leading them to their new home. She'd been as shocked and emotionally spent as the rest of them at the beginning, but seemed to have recovered from it just as quickly. With her at the forefront of the last weeks events, she'd managed to pack up the entire apartment, iron out a bunch of last will and testament legal mumbo jumbo, and herd around the rest of the Wright family into something vaguely resembling a schedule. Spencer pinned at least half the credit to her previously hidden Billy Joe Cobra knowledge, it was probably easy to collect yourself if you had more than just a week to acclimate to certain knowledge.

"I'm fine mom…" Spencer mumbled, not really attempting to sell the delivery or anything. He wasn't the only one who was out of it, he still wasn't really sure how he felt about everything that was happening. He pulled his gaze away from the window to take a look at his sister, who was just as enamored with Beverly Heights as Spencer had been. His dad was sleeping in the passenger's seat in the front, having drove them all the first half of the way there. Spencer almost felt bad that he was missing the sights, but dad was tired, and it wasn't as if he wouldn't get to see everything later.

He could still remember the aftermath of letting Mr. Johnson (That was the name of the previously unknown weirdo, Spencer still liked Mystery Man better) inside. It had been super tense until mom had opened the envelope, then she'd surprised Spencer and his sister by asking them to "Give us a moment, please honey?'. They'd done second best to that by listening to the back and forth between Mr. Johnson and their mom through the apartment walls. Then they'd heard mom start crying and decided 'Screw this' and ran into the living room to give her a hug.

When it was apparent mom wouldn't be able to explain much in the state she was in, Jessica demanded (with knife drawn) for Mr Johnson to explain 'What the hell was going on?' He'd just handed them the envelope and straightened his tie. The letter was pretty complicated, so Spencer had just skimmed it and read to the end of it, which was by far, the most interesting part.

"Does this say what I think is says?" Jessica had whispered as Spencer continued to read and reread the last two paragraphs, looking for something, anything that would make what he was seeing make sense. It couldn't be what he thought it was, because that was just crazy.

"It's exactly what you think, children." Mr. Johnson nodded, looking sympathetically at them, like a teacher helping a toddler read through a difficult sentence in Dog on a Jog. In the end, all three of them had started crying, and then dad came home so Mr. Johnson had to explain everything again, and then all four of them were bawling. It was an emotional time.

Everyday since then, he'd woken up wondering when the other shoe would drop, because it would, no two ways about it. They'd find out that is was all some crazy misunderstanding, or that they'd actually inherited all of Billy Joe Cobra's outstanding debt, and that they'd accidentally typed 'wealth' instead. Everyday he'd expected it, and everyday he'd been proven wrong.

They'd been told that as a stipulation, they'd have to move into Mister Cobras mansion in Beverly Heights immediately. The Wright family wasn't very fond of their dingy apartment and had no problem moving out post haste. They'd been told they were being given two thirds of Billy Joe Cobra's fortune, the last one third being given to various charities and organizations at his behest, and that they'd be wise to 'not get too carried away', because even two hundred and forty million could run out if they weren't careful. The Wright family spent the rest of the day asking the question 'How was it possible to spend two hundred and forty million?' and ' Was that a thing people did?'.

Mr. Johnson had explained that as the 'Executor' of Billy Joe Cobra's Will, he had spent the last year and a half tracking the Wright family down and that because of their 'living situation', had had a pretty hard time finding them. Apparently, Billy's Will had been a bit of a mess, and spent over two years being contested and ironed out. They found that they hadn't even been the first choice, but that the other intended recipients had been missing for over a decade, and been labeled a lost cause.

"Your parents living address and working addresses had changed so frequently that I'd almost given up looking in this state, thankfully, I was able to locate you Spencer. Your school address was relatively consistent, and I'd hopped to get in touch with you in hopes of delivering the news to the rest of your family. I'm so sorry I frightened you." Mr Johnson had explained to him solemnly when Spencer had gotten up the nerve to ask. Spencer wouldn't say he'd completely forgiven him for scaring the heck out of him, but the apology seemed pretty sincere. Searching for over a year and a half seemed like something that could drive someone to desperation, and Spencer couldn't say he didn't have any good intention behind it.

"Do you think they have any Taekwondo places around here?" Jessica asked Spencer excitedly, bouncing in her seat like a little kid. Spencer jerked out of his thoughts and smiled, he hadn't seen Jessica look this excited in a long time. Her usual mood was violent and grumpy, not that he could blame her or anything, he wasn't really any better. Though he tended to lean more into grumpy, he just couldn't pull off violent like his sister could.

"This is Beverly Heights Jess, they probably have a dozen of 'em. Maybe even someone who can hold their own against you." He guessed, he was pretty sure if someone wanted it, Beverly Heights had it, and had the best version of whatever 'It' was. Jessica seemed pleased with the answer, grinning before scoffing good naturedly and looking out the window again, eyes scanning surrounding buildings, probably looking for a Taekwondo sign. Spencer silently wished her good luck.

He smiled to himself, thinking, just maybe, this wasn't going to go horribly wrong. Something good had finally happened after 16 years of varying degrees of awful, maybe this time, he and his family were finally catching the break they deserved. "Mom, when do you think we're getting there?" He asked, feeling more upbeat than before, finally allowing himself to be just a little bit excited about all this.

" Well I can't be sure sweetie, I've never been to Billy's mansion bef-Oh wait! I think that might be it kids!" It mom exclaimed, looking back at them happily as she turned another corner. What Spencer saw was both expected and absolutely not at the same time.

The Cobra Mansion, in all it's lavish excess (to put it lightly), was in a way, exactly what he'd imagined the first time he'd been told they were supposed to move there. It was as big, impressive, and cool looking as Spencer imagined, but maybe a little too much so. After all, Spencer was a teenage boy, and Billy Joe Cobra had been an extremely successful musician/singer/songwriter. So how was it the mansion looked to be perfectly tailored to the whims and daydreams of an adolescent boy? There was a slide connecting to the house for Christs sakes! Sure Mister Cobra had been pretty young when he'd passed away, but that was kinda weird.

Even weirder, the Cobra Mansion wasn't the thing that was sending Spencer reeling, no, the mansion was almost the last thing on Spencer's mind at the moment. What was really sending Spencer for a loop was the hoards of what looked to be Billy Joe Cobra enthusiasts gathered outside the Mansion's front gates, and they looked angry.

Suddenly Spencer found a string of inconsistencies all simultaneously clicking into place. The security cars, why it took three and a half years for his family to finally get the will, why his mom hadn't so much as mentioned her connection to Billy until now. Spencer felt the car slow as they began to drive through the crowd towards the mansions slowly opening front gates. The security cars closed in even tighter around their car as a dozen or more security guards held the masses back.

"Get out of there, you thieving cowards!" Someone yelled from the crowd, an unknown brown object bouncing off the car door to Spencer's side, causing him to jolt away from the window in fear. His father startled awake, jumping in his seat so hard he hit his head on the ceiling, though he seemed to preoccupied with darting his eyes around the scene surrounding him to complain.

"You probably killed him didn't you?! Murderers!" A woman screeched from the crowd, fighting against a security guards hold with murder in her eyes.

"Billy is alive! Stay out of his house! He's still alive!" A smaller, less aggressive looking teen yelled from the crowd, eyeing the car desperately.

"What you're doing is wrong! He's still out there! You monsters! How can you sleep at night?!" Another moan screamed from the crowd, struggling against a bored looked guard.

After what felt like an eternity of violent chants and screaming, their car finally passed through the gates without any protesters (if that's what they were) squeezing through as well. Spencer braved a glance behind the car as the protesters pushed against the guards and the gates, before glancing around a now silent, tense car. He took in a shaky breath, and looked up at the steadily approaching mansion, with seemed a little more ominous than it had before.

"I knew it…" He breath out, setting his shoulders in a hunch as he eyed the perfectly paved driveway, eyes searching for any cracks or potholes in the pavement. It might look nice on the surface, but any moment, Spencer was sure the foundation would give out, they always did.

The car slowed to a stop, the Wright family remaining deadly silent for a moment before Jane turned to look at Spencer and Jessica, smiling a smile that looked just a bit too forced to be natural. "Well...That was exciting! Just think how interesting the inside must be!" she enthused, looking between Spencer a Jessica fro a moment, before looking to her husband. "Hugh, doesn't it look nice?" She pressed, giving him what Spencer knew was her get-your-head-in-the-game look. Spencer's dad looked a little shaken, but tried for a smile of his own, looking reassuringly at Spencer and his sister. "Yeah! I mean, I bet there's all kinds of cool things inside Mister Cobras Mansion kids! How's about we all take a look see?"

Spencer and Jessica looked at each other for a moment before Jessica responded with a nervous smile of her own. "Sure dad...Lets check this place out!" She looked to Spencer again for a response as well, but he wasn't interested, instead opting to glare, and yank the car door open. He gave the Cobra Mansion a warning glare, as he closed the car door, wanting to send it a message. He wouldn't be caught off guard again, and he would be keeping an eye out, he would make sure of that. He'd been stupid and let himself get his hopes up, and now he was facing the consequences. Well no more! From now on he was dotting his i's and crossing his t's, he was reading every suspicious piece of paper he saw and he'd start doing some goddamn research!

As the rest of his family stepped out of the car and began chatting idling about who's room was going to be who's and began heading towards the mansion, Spencer kept one step behind, mentally cataloging every suspicious thing he saw, keeping a particularly determined eye on the gates. He would just have to be paranoid for the rest of his family, let them enjoy themselves, while he stayed on his toes. He may be a fish out of water here in Beverly Heights, but he'd just have to tough it out, he couldn't let things fall apart, not again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought a lot about the consequences of the disappearance of Billy Joe Cobra, and how it would effect the Wright Family. Turns out there's a lot. Cobra Heads aren't the friendliest bunch to pretty much anyone who isn't Billy, and there were probably a couple hundred women claiming to have 'the legitimate child' of Billy Joe Cobra. That Will has probably been contested to hell and back over the last 3 years. But don't worry! Spencer is on the case, and he's got an eye out! Stay strong Spencer, things'll get better...maybe.


	4. Fourth Episode! Bill'y First Day!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm dreaming..." Billy had concluded, turning off the T.V and going to sleep in his bed, allowing himself to believe that when he woke up, it would all be over. In the end, he'd woken up to the same forced invisibility and blue complexion he'd went to sleep with, and after an intense I'm-totally-not-stuck-like-this makeover gone wrong, resigned himself to bawling on the couch and eating peanut butter. It was an emotional time.

He still couldn’t really believe it. Billy’s eyes were glued to the rollings hills and and opulent mansions scattered across the scenery of Beverly Heights, idly trying to pinch his arm, unable to tear his eyes away. It just felt like any second, they’d call the whole thing off, and slam the Dome right back on top of the mansion. Billy had only bothered looking outside because of the commotion the crowds lingering around the premises of Cobra Mansion were making. 

Some rando family, was apparently claiming to be the god cousins of Billy Joe Cobra? Even in his thoughts it felt more like a question than reality. How could anyone fall for that? They could've at least spoken with him about it, like, ‘Oh, by the way, your distant relatives are moving into your fabulous mansion Mister Cobra.’ or something? How did they even count as family anyway? Didn’t god cousin mean they weren’t even technically related? And why the heck now? Billy had been “declared” deceased three years ago! Why hadn’t they moved in then?

“At least that stupid Dome is gone. Who thought _that_ was ever a good idea?” He grumbled, turning slowly to look out another window, trying to take in as much of the mansion scenery as he possibly could. 

The Dome had been a “gift” from a Chinese businessfan who had been upset with news that fanatics and admirers of The Cobra were trespassing and attempting to steal from the Cobra Mansion. He’d paid for a huge cement dome to be put around the mansion to ‘Immortalize the Cobra Legacy’ and protect it from trespassers and thieves alike. Billy had hated it the moment he’d seen it being built. Because of that ugly dome, he’d been even more isolated from the outside world than before.

“It’s like they _want_ people to forget me…” Billy mumbled, eyeing the crowd of what he assumed to be greeters at the front gates. 

He was feeling pretty out of it, not really sure how he felt about everything that was happening. He pulled his gaze away from the window to take a look at the mirror behind him, advancing towards it slowly, hoping he would finally see something that would satisfy him. He’d hated what he’d seen the first time he’d looked all those years ago, and as he finally caught his reflection in the mirror once again, he had a sinking realization that he felt no different today. Blue, clear, and washed out, what he saw in the mirror hadn’t satisfied him for a very long time. 

He could still remember the aftermath of that fateful day, the day he’d woken up to see through skin and floating feet. It had been super intense until he’d had the genius idea to find help ‘Go find Cammie, she’ll know what to do!’. 

He’d done just that and had expected cries of alarm and shocked secretaries in the office, only to find...Nothing. No one looked at him, no one listened to him, and Cammie completely ignored him in favor of conference calls and business meetings.

When it was apparent that everyone at the office was obviously way too distracted to spare him a glance, he’d turned to Jessie, and then his entourage, and then Marco Venus, and by the end of the week he’d covered nearly every living soul in Beverly Heights! 

_“What the hell is going on?!”_ He’d screamed in the streets, looking for some kind of answer, a clue, something!

He’d just about given up on figuring out what had happened and resigned himself to believe he was dreaming when he’d turned the news on ( he was still able to watch T.V and touch things, thank God!) and seen the report. The terminology was pretty boring, so Billy had been seconds away from ignoring the report completely, before he’d heard the end of it, which was by far, the most interesting part. 

“Billy Joe Cobra, age 26, has been reported missing by his Manager today, around 6:34 pm. Reporters are on scene, where witnesses say he was last seen entering his mansion in Beverly Heights after an interview with reporter Holly of the Beverly Heights Highlights. Members of his entourage have stated he was planning on participating in an after party with Marco Venus after his Welcome Home concert last Friday, but had not been seen-” 

Billy had sat slack jawed, eyes glued to the T.V, looking for something, anything that would make what he was seeing make sense. It couldn’t be what he thought it was, because that was just crazy.

“I’m dreaming...” Billy had concluded, turning off the T.V and going to sleep in his bed, allowing himself to believe that when he woke up, it would all be over. 

In the end, he’d woken up to the same forced invisibility and blue complexion he’d went to sleep with, and after an intense I’m-totally-not-stuck-like-this makeover gone wrong, resigned himself to bawling on the couch and eating peanut butter. It was an emotional time.

Everyday since then, he’d woken up wondering when he’d finally wake up, because he would, no two ways about it. They’d find out that he’d been sucked into some alternate invisible realm, or that Billy was in some sort of half ghost coma that would end the minute they found his body, and that they’d only need locate the rest of him to reverse all this. Everyday he’d expected it, and everyday he’d been proven wrong. 

He'd watched as the courts declared him legally dead the moment the first year of searching was up. Apparently, the general public had begun rioting over lack of police investigation and conspiracy theories alike, threatening the peace and world order of international governments over ‘some overrated popstar’. 

He’d watched as crowds of countless Cobra Heads thinned out day after day until the Dome covered up whatever view of them he had left. He’d watched the news cover some new pop star extraordinaire, calling whatever new idol ’The New, Billy Joe Cobra’ as if it was a title to be won, instead of a person to be found. He’d watched his mansion gather dust, his lawn and hedges wilt away (due to lack of sunlight, stupid Dome) and his legacy wither like a poorly tended office plant, all while he _watched_ , because he was watching, he’d _never_ stopped watching.

Billy had watched, and he’d waited, and nobody found him, and he didn’t wake up, no matter how hard he tried. His Manager got employed to new Musicians and artists, his entourage scattered to the winds to tend to some other idols, and Jessie became a self employed artist. They’d all moved on, without _him_. 

So he continued to watch and wait. What else was there to do? He couldn’t be seen, he couldn’t he heard, and what was Billy without his presence, his most defining feature? He’d all but given up, and after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the world deemed fit to pound one final nail into Billy’s metaphorical coffin, the Dome was removed, and the Wrights were moving in. 

“And you won’t do a _thing_ about it.” Billy glared at his reflection, staring straight into hollow looking eyes with a spite he’d never thought he’d ever find directed at himself. 

This is what it’d come to, all his accomplishments, all his belongings, and now his only home, wouldn’t be his anymore, and what could he do? He barely existed enough to acknowledge his own agency, and he couldn’t _stand_ it!. He’d waited all this time for someone to find him, all the while he’d slowly been robbed of everything that made him himself.

Picking up his favorite guitar, he closed his eyes and began to sing.

Now come one come all to this tragic affair  
Wipe off that makeup, what's in is despair  
So throw on the black dress, mix in with the lot  
You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not

If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see  
You can find out firsthand what it's like to be me  
So gather 'round piggies and kiss this goodbye  
I'd encourage your smiles I'll expect you won't cry

Another contusion, my funeral jag  
Here's my resignation, I'll serve it in drag  
You've got front row seats to the penitence ball  
When I grow up I want to be nothing at all!

I said yeah, yeah!  
I said yeah, yeah!

C'mon C'mon C'mon I said  
Get me the hell out of here!  
Too young to die and my dear!  
If you can hear me just walk away!

“Goodnight Everybody...” Billy sighed. Singing just wasn’t same without an audience, no matter how good the song was. He set his guitar aside and thought over his current dilemma. The real problem wasn’t really him, it never was. The real problem was the people coming to move into the Cobra Mansion.

“They have no right!” He fumed, float/pacing around his room (That’s right, _his_ ) and brainstorming some kind of solution. If there was one thing Billy knew, it was that he’d never get used to some family of jerks moving into his house without his permission. And even if they were in a Will or something, he was still here, so they’d just have to back off!

He smiled to himself, thinking, just maybe, this could actually go his way. So some tools were trying to move in, he wasn’t exactly helpless. “Maybe if I spook'em...Yeah, we'll see how much they like this place after that!” He said, feeling more upbeat than before, finally allowing himself to be just a little bit excited about all this.

“And after I scare them outta The Cobra Mansion, I'll finally get some respect around here!” He exclaimed, looking around his room excitedly. Then he jerked to a stop at the sound of...cheering?.

Billy rushed to the window again, looking outside at the crowd loitering around the front gates of his house to see something very upsetting waiting for him. It was about five black cars slowly making their way through the front gates, and squeezed in the middle of all of them was a smaller, dingier looking SUV. 

Billy scrunched up his nose at the sight of it. It reeked of poor, middle class at best, losers. Was that car really the best they could do? They were moving into The Cobra Mansion, they’d inherited his fortune for Christs sakes! They stuck out like a pus filled, sore thumb. 

Even weirder, the welcoming crowd outside seemed to be throwing things at them. “Maybe poor people confetti?” Billy mused, he wasn’t sure how things worked for people like them, he honestly wasn’t very interested either. They wouldn’t be sticking around if he had anything to say about it.

After what felt like an eternity of painfully slow driving, the car ( if you can call it that) finally passed through the gates without any greeters squeezing through as well. “Too late to turn back now...” He breath out, setting his shoulders in a hunch as he eyed his perfectly paved driveway, eyes searching for any cracks or potholes in the pavement to exploit. It might look nice on the surface, but at any moment, Billy was planning on giving those tools a real scare. 

The car slowed to a stop, the Wright family remaining inside the car for a weirdly long time. “What are they waiting for? They should at least act excited, it’s my mansion for pete's sake!” Billy huffed, looking between the SUV and the front door expectantly. 

“Are they nervous or something” He pressed, floating closer to the window and squinting, hoping to catch sight of one of them. After another eternity of time, Billy tugged at his hair angrily “Seriously? What is their problem? Just get out of your stupid car so I can make you get back in it!” 

Suddenly one of the doors opened, revealing a short brunett kid as he stepped out and slammed the door shut. “Now that’s more like it!” Billy cheered, eyeing the newcomer with calculating eyes, not wanting to miss a thing. This would be a historic day in Cobra history after all.

To Billy’s shock the kid wipped his head around and glared right at him. He jumped back, caught off guard and a bit shaken. He could have sworn the kid saw him. When he looked out the window again, the kid was back to ignoring him, looking around the mansion with angry eyes. 

So he hadn’t seen him. Obviously. He took in a shuddering breath he knew he didn’t need, and steeled himself again, scowling at the kid and his now emerging family. He’d been stupid and let himself get his hopes up. Well no more! From now on he was going poltergeist, no more Mister Nice Cobra, he was going to be mean, and he wasn’t holding back! 

As the rest of the family stepped out of the car and began chatting idling about whos room was going to be whos and began heading towards the mansion, Billy kept one step ahead of them. He mentally cataloged every minute detail he saw, keeping a particularly determined eye on the brunette kid. 

He would be the first to face his wrath. Let the rest of the family enjoy themselves, while he kept that kid on his toes. He may be invisible and mute, but he’d had enough of being ignored and dismissed! It was time he take an active role in his life again, and no one was going to get in his way. He was tired of watching and waiting. It was time to take action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Billy hasn't made much progress in the seven stages of grief over the years, but at least he trying! Just four more to go Billy! While it's not too obvious, Billy still kind of believes he's alive. What? He might actually be stuck in another invisible parallel dimension! Or just a very unfortunate X-men. If you find ghosts more believable than that, you need to re examine your priorities! The song Billy was singing is called The End, by the almost painfully edgy My Chemical Romance! It looks like it helped Billy collect himself though. Watch out Wright Family! Watch out Spencer! Never give up Billy! I'm sure any day now, you'll be alive and amazing again, just keep trucking!


	5. Fifth Episode! Billy Goes Poltergiest!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How'd you find the elevator so fast? What are you doing in here?!" Billy quickly pushed Spencer off his bed, satisfied at the surprised yelp the kid let out at being shoved by a seemingly invisible force. "And stay off!" he threatened, giving Spencer a firm poke in the chest for good measure. At this point, the kid looked thoroughly spooked, looking wildly around the room, then stumbling to his feet and quickly making his way to the elevator. Billy smiled, reassured in knowing the kid wouldn't be poking his nose in here without good reason from now on.

The second he'd seen the Wright family step into the threshold of his house, he'd flown downstairs with an energy he hadn't felt in a really long time. "This is so exciting!" he squealed, watching what looked like the parents start talking with some security guards while the little girl started exploring the bottom floor. "That just leaves you, little squirt…" he grinned, watching as the brunette kid started inspecting the area around the entryway. Billy frowned a bit at that. His mansion was awesome, shouldn't this turd be at least a little impressed, maybe even gape at the amazing design?

"The outside of this place looks so wacky, I thought the inside would look more like that Relativity painting." The kid scoffed ,looking around the room like it was some kind of hazard. Billy was having none of that. This kid didn't even belong here, he had no place insulting Billy's house! Billy flew right up to the kids face and glared.

"You're going to regret that you jerk." Billy hissed, bending down and tying the kids ratty shoe laces together, snickering before floating a good distance away. He wanted to watch this! Unfortunately, Billy's attention was drawn away from the kid when one of his parents called out "Spencer, get out of the doorway and look around with us!" Billy jumped at the sound of someone falling face first into the hardwood floor, and turned around to get an eyeful of very grumpy looking child.

Billy started laughing at the sight, he was pretty proud of himself, no question. "So your name's Spencer, huh?" Billy mused, floating closer to get a better look at the kid's face as he untangled his shoes with obvious concern on his dumb little face. He knew he wouldn't get an answer, but he didn't need one, this was the most interaction he'd had in awhile, and he was just getting started! "You're gonna be my new best friend Spensore." He sneered, following Spencer as he stumbled towards his parents, eyes inspecting everything even more warily than before.

Billy watched as the rest of the family meandered around the first floor, oohing and awwing at basic appliances and marveling at things Billy wouldn't have looked twice at. These people really needed to get out more. He liked the awed admiration and all, but this was getting a little sad. When the dad started marveling at his guest bathroom, he'd had just about enough. "Just how poor were you people?" he groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes when the mother started marveling at the fridge. He was so caught up in the squeamish, tight feeling in his gut that he didn't even notice the little girl start up to the second floor.

"I call first dibs!" She called over to the rest, running up the stairs excitedly. Billy gasped, chasing after her worriedly, he didn't want her in his room! By the time he got upstairs, the girl was already looking around in his yoga room approvingly, and Billy let out a sigh of relief. "I really like this room, mom! Can I have this one? Please?" The girl begged as the rest of the family came up the stairs, looking around curiously.

"Don't get too comfortable…" Billy scoffed, looking for Spencer, who he'd realized he'd lost track of a while back. He searched around the second floor, but found no sign of the kid "Where are you hiding, Spencer denser~?" He hummed, phasing through walls and floating through doors. Just when he was about to turn his attention back to the rest of the family again, he heard the tell tale sounds of someone walking around in his room. Billy shot up as quickly as he could, looking wildly around his room for the intruder, eyes finally locking of the little rat sitting on his bed.

"How'd you find the elevator so fast? What are you doing in here?!" Billy quickly pushed Spencer off his bed, satisfied at the surprised yelp the kid let out at being shoved by a seemingly invisible force. "And stay off!" he threatened, giving Spencer a firm poke in the chest for good measure. At this point, the kid looked thoroughly spooked, looking wildly around the room, then stumbling to his feet and quickly making his way to the elevator. Billy smiled, reassured in knowing the kid wouldn't be poking his nose in here without good reason from now on.

Or at least that was what he'd hoped until the kids parents came up, blocking Spencer's path out. "This in such a cool room!" The dad exclaimed, looking around approvingly as his wife admired the view from the window. "You know, your mom and I have already chosen our room Spencer, and so has your sister. How about you have this one? It'll give you some more privacy!"

"No! No no no no NO!" Billy pleaded, looking between Spencer and his dad desperately, this wasn't how is was supposed to go! He locked onto a nervous looking Spencer and glared, zipping over and placing a firm hand on his shoulder as a warning. "You say yes, and I'll make you regret it." Billy growled.

Spencer shivered, looking at his shoulder as if he'd caught sight of a tarantula, and visibly gulped. "I..I don't think so dad...I mean, this room is so nice! We should probably just use it as a storage rooOM!" Billy dug his nails into Spencer's shoulder angrily, hoping it conveyed how much he thought that idea sucked! "O-Or! We can just...Leave this room alone...Forever…?" Billy relaxed his grip, sure the kid was a terrible actor, but at least he'd stopped giving out even worse ideas.

The kids parents looked at him worriedly, before the mother sighed, and walked over to Spencer, placing a comforting hand on her son's other shoulder. "Spencer...I know things seem a little...Well, a lot complicated right now, but you can trust me when I say, things are going to get better. This is our home now, and I know that might seem scary, but the first step in conquering your fears is to familiarize yourself with the terrain, and face them head on!" She squeezed her son's shoulder again, and started to walk out with her husband, stopping to look back again. "You'll try for me, right Spencer?" She insisted, looking her son in the eye and waiting.

Billy didn't know what he was feeling right now, but whatever it was, it stopped him from digging his nails into Spencer's shoulder again. Instead, he found himself watching for what Spencer's response would be, lifting his hand from the kids shoulder. The kid stood there for a moment, looking way too conflicted for a kid his age, before looking his mom straight in the eye and nodding determinedly. Billy suddenly found himself coming to his senses as Spencer's parents left on the elevator, cursing under his breath at the mistake he'd just made. "Get your head in the game Cobra!" He seethed, turning to Spencer with murder in his eyes. He'd let himself be caught off guard again, but he wouldn't let there be a third time!

"You just made a big mistake Spenstink!" he warned as he advanced on the kid angrily, but before he followed through on whatever rage filled fantasy he was about to play out, he caught sight of the kids luggage, grinning as an even better idea came to mind. He stretched his arms out, and yanked the bag from the kids side, tearing it open to fast the zipper broke as he rifled inside.

"Hey! What the heck is your problem?! You can't just snatch people's stuff like that, you tool shed!" The kid snapped, surprising Billy for a moment, not that he'd actually stop, this kid was the stuff stealer way before he'd done it. "I swear if you don't put that down-" Billy grinned as he stuffed his hand inside and started tossing all the contents out as carelessly as he could, though he avoided hitting any of his stuff. Collateral damage wasn't on his agenda today, or any day for that matter.

"Oh! That's it you stupid specter! I warned you!" The kid looked angrily around the room, maybe for something to throw at Billy? Billy just scoffed and tossed his stuff around harder. The kid just stood there looking seriously determined for a moment before a very concerning smile began to creep across his face. "I'm giving you one last chance ghost!" He called out, edging towards one of the walls. Billy just laughed and started swinging the bag around wildly, letting the rest of the contents spill out as he did. "Yeah, I'm sooooooo scared!" Billy teased.

"Fine!" The kid yelled, snatching one of Billy's trophies from a shelf and holding it above his head threateningly. "If you don't knock it off right now, I'm smashing it!" He promised, somehow managing to look Billy right in the eyes. Billy couldn't believe it, this kid was managing to push all his buttons in a single day! He paused his trashing of the kids bag, weighing the pros and cons of letting the kid smash his trophy. It was his trophy, so it was important, but at the same time, not one of his most prized possessions. Would it be so bad to let him smash it? If he gave in, the kid would think he could get away with anything! He started lifting the bag again, not taking his eyes of Spencer as he did.

"I won't stop either!" Spencer continued, tightening his grip on the trophy. "If you keep going, so will I. This trophy will only be the first thing of yours I break…" The kid wasn't taking his eyes off Billy either, and for some reason Billy hated it. He'd thought being noticed would feel liberating, but this kid was somehow managing to make it suck! Maybe it was because the kid wasn't really seeing him, all he could see was what he did.

"Ugh…. Fine! You win!" Billy grimaced, throwing the bag roughly down and sticking his tongue out at Spencer. This whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth anyway, he just wanted to take a nap, maybe pick up where he left off tomorrow. "You win this time. I'll make your life a horror fest after this, just wait!" Billy pouted, floating over to his bed grumpily and huffing.

The kid continued to stand there for what felt like a minuet before he fell flat on his butt, then fell to his back and sighed. He hadn't let go of the trophy, and Billy wasn't going to risk trying to get it back,he didn't want his stuff broken. "Of all the things that could have gone wrong...I'd have never guessed...A ghost? Really?!" The kid wondered aloud, staring at the ceiling with a thoughtful look in his eyes, before sitting up. He started to head towards the bed, but Billy put a stop to that, stretching out his arm to push Spencer hack roughly. "Really?! You're dead, you don't need to sleep!" The kid complained, glaring in Billy's general direction, before huffing and turning around. He started to stiffly pick up all the stuff Billy had worked so hard to fling in every possible direction, annoying Billy to no end.

"If I wasn't so done with you, I'd throw you out my window, you know that Spencer Wright?" Billy stated blankly closing his eyes, still expecting no answer, and honestly unable to bring himself to carry out the act. Causing mayhem was way more tiring than he'd remembered it being when he was alive. All these years practically hibernating in his mansion had really left him out of shape. He'd just have to work out more, and by work out, he meant wreaking complete and utter havoc in the Wright family's life until they left. He'd have to wear this one down first though. If he couldn't handle chasing out one kid, he'd be no match for the rest of them.

"Baby steps Cobra, baby steps…" he murmured, feeling himself start to relax, he blinked, then sat up to see what Spencer was planning on doing with no bed. To his surprise, the kid had taken a zombie themed (Ew, why?) blanket out of his bag, and was currently using his bag as a pillow, which looked uber uncomfortable to Billy. Not that he cared enough to do anything about it or anything. He pondered messing with the kid some more, but with how Spencer had acted earlier, the little turd wouldn't put up with anything without a fight, and Billy really was tired.

Billy stretched out his arm and grabbed his guitar, idly strumming it as he began to hum a goodnight song for his unwelcome visitors. Billy wouldn't admit it out loud (not that anyone could hear) but he'd kinda missed company, if only because he'd missed an audience. Three's a crowd after all, and Billy loved crowds. He stopped, remembering he couldn't be heard, and paused for a moment to think of a solution for that.

His eyes wandered over to the kid, who twitched as Billy continued to idly strum his guitar, and something clicked. "Duh! I'm might be silent, but my guitar isn't!" He cheered, humming to himself as he started to play a song without words, closing his eyes as it slowly filled the mansion, and lulled the Wright family and himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song without words is one played by one of my favorite composers! It's called Prelude in C minor, by Agustin Barrios Mangore, a cool name to be sure! Billy sure is enjoying all the company he's got! Aren't you supposed to be scaring them Billy? I'm sure he'll really spook Spencer tomorrow. Watch out Spencer, when you mess with the Cobra, you get the fangs!


	6. Sixth Episode! Spencer's Eye Spy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer sighed, sitting on the bed and looking around more. This room was filled with so much stuff, comic books, video games, books, and trophies for various things, action figures, a few stuffed animals, clothes, candy wrappers. Billy had lived here, and he'd slept here, and he might have even died here. "What am I doing here..?" Spencer wondered, feeling a crawling feeling inside him, like he wasn't supposed to be here, or he was trespassing on sacred ground.

The second he'd stepped into the threshold of The Cobra Mansion, he'd immediately felt a chill run up his spine. "This is so exciting!" his mom chirped as she looked around, then turned to start talking with some security guards with dad while Jessica started exploring the bottom floor. 'That just leaves me' he thought, watching as the rest of his family made themselves comfortable in their new "home". As Spencer inspected the entryway, he frowned a bit at the thought of this being his home. The mansion was awesome, but that didn't mean it was home, the place was built more like an amusement park, or a fun house, then an actual home.

"The outside of this place looks so wacky, I thought the inside would look more like that Relativity painting." He scoffed, looking around the room for any potential hazards. He'd have to admit though, the interior decorating beat the mansions weird factor by ten. Who in their right mind had the gall to own so many self portraits of themselves? He'd always heard rumors that the guy had been self centered, but this was ridiculous!

'Maybe it a good thing I never got to meet him.' Spencer thought, and was about to voice his opinion of the decorating too, when he heard his mom call him. "Spencer, get out of the doorway and look around with us!" He took a step forward, or at least tried to, but his foot caught on something and suddenly he was kissing ground. "Augh!" he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing, and rubbed his face tenderly. His cheek was gonna bruise, and his nose hurt, but that was the full extent of it. He was about to glare at the floor when he caught sight of his shoes and his breath caught.

He sat up and took a closer look, not quite believing what he was seeing. Someone, had tied his shoelaces together. He wanted to blame Jessica, but she hadn't been anywhere near his shoes, and she wasn't sneaky enough to pull it off without him noticing. He was sure his shoes had been tied normally before too, so how…? He decided to let it go for now, if there was some mysterious lace tyer around, he'd get around to finding out about it later.

Spencer watched as the rest of his family meandered around the first floor, oohing and awwing at the shiny new appliances and marveling at things Spencer never thought he'd ever see in person, much less own. It irked Spencer that most of the stuff looked brand new, had Billy even used half this stuff? And of course around every corner, he saw more Billy Joe Cobra memorabilia, and posters, and accessories, and action figures, the list went on. If Spencer hadn't known any better, he would have thought this place had been owned by a super fan. It was like Billy was still there, mocking them for being poor, reminding them they owed him or something. Spencer hated it.

When dad started marveling at the guest bathroom, he'd had just about enough. "Just how rich was this jerk?" he mumbled, heading up the stairs as his mom started admiring the fridge. He was so caught up in the squeamish, tight feeling in his gut that he didn't even notice that he'd reached the second floor. He walked down the hallway slowly, sparing lingering glances on the rooms, but nothing really caught his interest, not until he saw the elevator.

"I call first dibs!" He heard his sister call from downstairs, he instinctively ran to the elevator and got inside, pushing the button to head up before he really thought it through. He wanted to see the room before anyone else did, so sue him. Maybe if he liked it, he'd call dibs. "Maybe it's some super secret, demon sacrifice room, or a vampire coven filled with sleeping, blood sucking monsters?" He thought aloud, smiling at the idea of hooded cultists cutting opening goats in the Cobra Mansion. At least it would explain the chills this place gave him.

"Maybe it's just as richy rich as the rest of…"Spencer's words faded off, as the elevator stopped his eyes widened at the state of the room in front of him. He slowly walked into the bedroom, eyes taking in every detail and decoration he came across. Suddenly, he felt that uncomfortable tight feeling in his stomach again. The room just looked so...Real. It was nice, yeah of course, and it was cool, no doubt, but it was also real. He'd never thought he'd find the room looking so... lived in. Had anyone cleaned the place up? It looked like Billy had slept in the bed just last night.

Spencer sighed, sitting on the bed and looking around more. This room was filled with so much stuff, comic books, video games, books, and trophies for various things, action figures, a few stuffed animals, clothes, candy wrappers. Billy had lived here, and he'd slept here, and he might have even died here. "What am I doing here..?" Spencer wondered, feeling a crawling feeling inside him, like he wasn't supposed to be here, or he was trespassing on sacred ground.

And then Spencer was being shoved off the bed, he hadn't heard the elevator, hadn't caught sight of anyone, hadn't heard or seen a thing. "Wha-!" He yelped, falling to the ground, dazed and very confused. Then something was prodding his chest, hard, and now Spencer was sure there hadn't been anything, because he had eyes, and they had only one job. At this point, he was thoroughly spooked, looking wildly around the room, then stumbling to his feet and quickly making his way to the elevator. He didn't know what was pushing him around, but he had to get away from it, now.

Or at least that was what he'd hoped to do, until his parents came up, blocking his way out. "This in such a cool room!" His dad exclaimed, looking around approvingly as mom admired the view from the window. "You know, your mom and I have already chosen our room Spencer, and so has your sister. How about you have this one? It'll give you some more privacy!"

'No! No no no no NO!' Spencer's thoughts pleaded, looking between the elevator and his dad desperately, he had to go, not move in! He suddenly felt a cold, firm hand on his shoulder, and it screamed a warning. 'You say yes, and I'll make you regret it.'

Spencer shivered, looking at his shoulder and seeing nothing, which was even scarier than if he had seen a hand, and gulped. "I..I don't think so dad...I mean, this room is so nice! We should probably just use it as a storage rooOM!" Invisible nails dug into his shoulder angrily, conveying how much it probably thought that idea sucked, or maybe it was trying to tear his arm off? "O-Or! We can just...Leave this room alone...Forever…?" The grip relaxed and Spencer internally let out a sigh of relief, sure he was a terrible actor, but at least the hand had stopped cutting off his circulation.

His parents looked at him worriedly, before the mom sighed, and walked over to him, placing a comforting hand on his other shoulder. "Spencer...I know things seem a little...Well, a lot complicated right now, but you can trust me when I say, things are going to get better. This is our home now, and I know that might seem scary, but the first step in conquering your fears is to familiarize yourself with the terrain, and face them head on!" She squeezed his shoulder again, and started to walk out with dad, stopping to look back again. "You'll try for me, right Spencer?" She insisted, looking him in the eye and waiting.

Spencer didn't know how to respond at first, concentrating hard on his answer. As he thought, the hand on his shoulder seemed to disappear, maybe the ghost was leaving? He wanted to try to fight whatever this thing was for his mom, even if he was having a crap ton of second guesses about this place. Whatever was messing with him might be invisible and angry, but it was also probably angry for a reason, maybe he could reason with it? He had to try he decided, looking his mom straight in the eye and nodding determinedly.

Spencer watched his parents leave the room satisfied, and decided he'd need a game plan to deal with this...ghost? It seemed like a ghost, and if he was wrong, the for-now-ghost would just have to correct him. Maybe they could even be friends? Just as he thought that, the ghost seemed to respond in kind by stealing his luggage from his side.

"Hey! What the heck is your problem?! You can't just snatch people's stuff like that, you tool shed!" Spencer snapped, surprising himself for a moment. He had to be firm with this thing if he wanted to get his point across. It seemed to work, seeing as the bag stopped moving for a moment. Steeling himself, Spencer took a firm step forward. "I swear if you don't put that down-" The ghost cut him off as it seemed to reach inside and started tossing all the contents of his bag out carelessly. Spencer took back any potential friendship he'd been thinking up, this ghost was going down!

"Oh! That's it you stupid specter! I warned you!" He looked angrily around the room, maybe for something to throw at it? The ghost just tossed his stuff around harder. As Spencer watched the ghost throw his stuff around, he noticed it never seemed to knock any of the older decorations and items not belonging to him over. 'That's it!' He thought, a smile began to work its way across his face as the gears started to turn. "I'm giving you one last chance ghost!" He called out, edging towards one of the walls with the trophies on it. The ghost just started swinging the bag around wildly, letting the rest of the contents spill out as it did. 'What're you gonna do?' it seemed to tease.

"Fine!" He yelled, snatching one of Billy's trophies from a shelf and holding it above his head threateningly. "If you don't knock it off right now, I'm smashing it!" He promised, somehow managing to look right at the ghost. Spencer couldn't believe it, He was actually threatening a real life ghost! It paused it's trashing of his bag, seeming to weigh the pros and cons of letting the him smash the trophy. Spencer couldn't help but wonder, was it his trophy? Could this be Billy's ghost, or was it just some random spirit? It would kind of make sense for it to be Billy's ghost, but if it was, why would Billy want to get rid of him? He'd written that he'd wanted the Wright family to live here, so wouldn't he be a nicer ghost or something? Tying his shoelaces together and trashing his stuff wasn't very welcoming.

"I won't stop either!" Spencer continued, tightening his grip on the trophy. "If you keep going, so will I. This trophy will only be the first thing of yours I break…" He wasn't taking his eyes off where maybe-Billy probably was, and for some reason he was pretty sure the ghost was looking at him too. He'd always thought meeting a real life paranormal entity would be awesome, but this ghost was somehow managing to make it suck! Maybe it was because ghost was vengeful or something. It probably wasn't Billy, Billy Joe Cobra's whole character didn't really scream 'vengeful spirit'.

Suddenly, the ghost was throwing the bag roughly down on the ground in front of Spencer. Spencer wanted to call it out for technically messing with his stuff again, but decided to let it go in favor of surviving the whole encounter unscathed. The fact that he'd gotten away with the whole trophy hostage situation was by pure luck and almost nothing else. The fact that it had had such a small chance of actually working was hitting Spencer pretty hard right now, leaving him breathless, and a little shaken.

He continued to stand there for what felt like an hour before he fell flat on his butt, then fell to his back and sighed. He hadn't let go of the trophy, and hopefully the ghost wasn't going to risk trying to get it back, if it still didn't want the thing to be broken. "Of all the things that could have gone wrong...I'd have never guessed...A ghost? Really?!" He wondered aloud, staring at the ceiling with a thoughtfully, before sitting up. He started to head towards the bed for a much needed nap, but the ghost put a stop to that, using an invisible hand to push Spencer back roughly. "Really?! You're dead, you don't need to sleep!" He complained, glaring in what he hoped was the ghosts general direction, before huffing and turning around. He started to stiffly pick up all the stuff it had carelessly decided to fling in every possible direction, annoying Spencer to no end.

'If I wasn't so scared of you, I'd throw this dumb trophy out the window, you stupid ghost.' Spencer though, expecting no answer, and honestly unable to bring himself to carry out the act. As he collected the rest of his clothes and shoved them back into his bag, he came across his blanket hanging from a lamp and tugged it off. He was really tired, and having no bed was going to be a problem. He was pretty sure by the unnatural quiet of the mansion, that the rest of his family had gone to sleep in their respective rooms, leaving Spencer the only one still trying to work out his living situation. He'd try sleeping in another room, but he was afraid his mom would find him, and be disappointed with him, especially after his promise to her. If he couldn't handle wrangling a cruddy ghost, he'd be no match for whatever the rest of Beverly Heights had in store for him.

"Baby steps Spencer, baby steps…" he thought, setting up a makeshift bed out of his clothing bag and his zombie blanket. For now, this would have to do. He laid in silence for a few moments when, to his surprise, the ghost started to play some sort of tune on a guitar Spencer had seen on the other side of the room. Not that he cared enough to do anything about it or anything. He pondered threatening the ghost to stop with the trophy, but with how stubborn it had acted earlier, the big jerk wouldn't give an inch without putting up a fight, and Spencer was really tired.

Spencer listened as the tune on the guitar went from upbeat to solemn to angry to sad, as if the ghost couldn't make up it's mind on what it wanted to play. It was nice, but a bit distracting, making it hard to really relax and sleep. He shifted a bit as the tune changed again, and was just about to brave telling the ghost to make up its mind already, when the tune suddenly settled into something calming, a little sad, but very relaxing.

He let himself enjoy the music as he finally relaxed, pulling the blanket closer around himself as he fell asleep to the tune of some nameless song, played by the hands of some nameless guitarist, in the room of the most well known star in the world. 'I could almost get used to this.' He thought, to himself as he fell into dreams about fabulous mansions, angry shadows, and vengeful, but comforting spirits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The BJC Mansion is a super cool place to hang, if you like seeing Billy's face around every corner and plastered to every wall! I noticed when studying the mansion, that Billy had a kitchen, and I was pretty sure he probably never used it. At least that leaves the Wright family with a junk load of brand new appliances! Spencer likes to think of himself as a supernatural/horror expert, but the real deal can be a real handful! Stand your ground Spencer! Don't let this invisible fiend push you around!


	7. Seventh Episode! Spencer's Hide And Seek!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He followed Spencer as he made his way around the mansion, looking at various decorations and furniture with the same quiet calculating look he'd given everything else that Billy owned. It irritated Billy so much! This kid should be marveling at all the cool stuff he had, it was a Cobra head fantasy in here! He hadn't even looked twice at the Freaky Tiki room! "You're serious?" He deadpanned as Spencer spared the most blasé glance at the water slide he'd ever seen. He was doing it on purpose, he had to be! "A water slide? Color me unimpressed. How cliché can you get?" Spencer scoffed moving onto the patio with a bored expression.

Spencer woke to the feeling of a sudden chill, and an unnerving 'whooshing' sound. He jerked up, looking around the room for the source and found it in his now floating zombie blanket, which the ghost had rudely yanked off of him.

"Give that back man. That's mine, I need it!" Spencer complained, not feeling nearly awake enough to deal with any of this. He rubbed his face tiredly, becoming more aware of his surrounding as he did. He squeezed his other hand, which felt unnaturally stiff, and found he'd managed to keep a tight grip on the trophy the entire night, if the cramp in his hand was any indication. He took a quick look around and found the ghost had managed to not mess with any of his other stuff while he'd been sleeping, which was surprising. Did this ghost actually need to sleep?

"Look dude, just give me back my blanket, and I won't break this trophy. You know the drill." He advised, trying not to show how much he cared about the blanket. His mom had bought it for him when he'd first gotten into the horror genre, and it was one of the only things he owned that had made it to the new apartment. When you move around a lot, you end up leaving stuff behind, and Spencer had been hell bent on not letting the blanket become another casualty of the cycle.

The ghost was as always, silent, still holding the blanket in the air and out of reach. "Please…?" he tried, hoping it wouldn't embolden the ghost into escalating the situation. Maybe it would be nice for once and cut him some slack? He watched as the blanket rose for a moment, before falling to the ground limply. "Thank you." Spencer sighed, glad there was some semblance of cooperation going on. He then got up and started to get dressed, pausing to wonder of the ghost might be watching. The thought creeped him out, but he was still kind of tired and if the ghost was some kind of weirdo, that wasn't his problem.

Just as he'd finished getting dressed, his mom decided to call for him downstairs. "Spencer! Come on down sweetie! I'm making breakfast!" Spencer looked around the room for anything he might need to take care of, and when he found nothing, called back. "I'll be down in a second!" He shoved his blanket in his bag, zipped it shut for good measure, and headed towards the elevator. He stopped right before he got inside, almost forgetting the trophy, and snatched it up before running into the elevator to go downstairs.

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Billy was furious! He'd woken up with renewed determination, ready to give this kid the wake up call of a lifetime. He'd snatched that ugly zombie blanket off him and immediately regretted it. The trophy! He'd almost forgotten, and sadly the kid hadn't. He'd wanted nothing more than to tear the stupid blanket apart, but he knew he couldn't stand losing that trophy, so he'd dropped it.

Spencer seemed pretty attached to the blanket for some reason, and if Billy had been visible, or and least hearable, he would have probably made fun of him for it. What kind of kid his age still had blankets anyway, and what kind of childhood did this guy have for such a gorey theme? Billy would have cried at the sight of such a freaky blanket when he was a kid.

He was currently in what the Wright family had transformed into the dining room, fuming over his latest failure, and thinking of some sort of solution that didn't end in his stuff being wrecked. He allowed his mind to wander a bit at the sight of his billiard rooms strange transformation, he had to hand it to the dad, he new how to improvise. "Jessica! I'm making breakfast! Come set up the table!" the mom called from the kitchen, stirring Billy's interest as he floated over to her. He hadn't really ate any home made food for a while, and his appetite was running on overdrive at the smell wafting over from the stove.

"Coming!" Jessica called from Billy's yoga room, Billy opting to ignore the kid in favor of finding out everything he could about the food the mom was making. It looked like toast, but fatter, and it smelled way sweeter and ten times more delicious than any toast he'd ever eaten. He watched her scoop the weird toast from the frying pan and onto a pile of other wacky toasts, swallowing a pool of saliva he hadn't noticed he'd been collecting. The mom then picked up the plate full of fancy toast and headed over to the billiard/dining room, setting it down in the center of the table and serving two to her husband, then to her daughter, and then an empty plate looking to belong to Spencer, before serving herself two.

Billy was about to sneakily snatch one of the leftover toasts to inspect it when he his attention was drawn to something completely life changing. The little girl was pouring chocolate syrup on her toast, making it look even more delicious than it was before, then taking it another step further, and scooping strawberry syrup with strawberry chunks onto it. Billy was unashamed to admit he was drooling at this point, zooming over to watch her take a large bit out of the fancy toast, and let out a satisfied hum.

"The french toast is really good mom! Can I have Spencer's if he doesn't come down?" she teased, smiling at her mom around a mouthful of french toast. Even the name sounded good! How had he never heard of this? "Don't talk with your mouth full Jessica. And no, we have left overs, so don't be greedy." The mom scolded, frowning at her daughter before leaning over and shouting up the stairs. "Spencer! Come on down sweetie! I'm making breakfast!"

"I'll be down in a second!" Spencer called from Billy's room. Billy ignored him in favor of snatching one of Jessica's french brosts and stuffing it in his face. "Thish, is shooooo gooood!" He groaned, savoring the amazing flavor of his new favorite breakfast meal. Jessica let out a gasp of surprise when she noticed one of her french toasts was missing, then shrugged and took another one from the middle of the table. Billy took this opportunity to snatch both of Spencer's french toasts and shove it in his mouth as well. See how he liked having his stuff messed with.

================================================================================================================================================

Spencer smiled as the scent of french toast hit his nose. Things were looking up! He walked into what he assumed his family had decided would be the dining room and sat in the only empty seat. He looked down onto his plate and frowned at seeing mom hadn't served him yet. She always served the family whatever portion she wanted to see them eat, so Spencer was confused at the empty plate. Maybe she was feeling off? Spencer couldn't really blame her, everything had been a bit of a blur the past few days anyway. He shrugged and reached into the middle to pull a few pieces of toast his way, but only managed to get one. He watched in dismay as the other two literally vanished before his very eyes, looking to his mom and dad to see if they had seen what had just happened.

Of course, they were too preoccupied with their own food to pay too much attention to his dilemma, leaving Spencer to glare at the air around the table and hold up the trophy still in his grip menacingly. He quickly finished his single french toast, casting wary eyes about all the while, before picking up his dish and leaving the table. "Spencer, are you finished already?" His dad called, looking at him with a concerned expression. "Yeah, I'm just gonna do dishes dad, then look around and stuff." he replied reassuringly, hoping his dad didn't notice his fidgeting. He didn't want to make a scene, but he had a ghost to deal with, and he couldn't really do that with his family there to interfere.

"Alright then. Tell us if you find anything really cool, o.k?" His dad enthused, smiling at his son before digging into his breakfast. Spencer ran out of sight, into the kitchen, and started rinsing off his dish, keeping an eye out for anything weird. "I know you're lurking around here ghost, don't think I'm not prepared." he warned holding up the trophy and glancing around the room. "Why did you steal my food? I kinda need that to live ya' know? Unlike someone." he stated, eyes widening as he saw the dish he was rinsing lift out of his hand and float menacingly above the floor.

"No! I'm sorry about the living comment, o.k? " he cried out, reaching out for the plate only to have it pulled out his reach. "Can you just-" The plate smashed to the ground, startling Spencer into jumping back in shock. "Spencer, what was that?" His mom called, sounding anxious.

"Uh...Sorry mom! I dropped a plate.."He called back apologetically, glaring daggers at the spot in the room he assumed the ghost was. He held the trophy up in warning, tempted to smash it on the floor, when his mom came into the kitchen. "Oh, honey. Get the dust pan so I can clean this up. And be careful!" she commanded. Spencer nodded, lowering the trophy and picking up the broom and dustpan, handing his mom the broom apologetically. "I'm sorry mom…" he mumbled, even though it wasn't entirely his fault, he had been the one to make the ghost angry.

His mom rolled her eyes good naturedly, smiling as she swept the last of the dish shards into the dustpan. "It's fine Spencer, just be more careful, o.k? We might be rich now, but I'd prefer to keep my old dishes." she said, taking the dustpan from him and throwing the contents in the trash. "Actually I have something I wanted to tell you about before you go exploring." she continued, leaning on the counter as she spoke. "Mr Johnson called me last night since he can't come over right now. He told me we'll have security guards around the mansion for a few weeks, maybe a month or two depending on how things go, so try to stay in the Cobra Mansion till we get the go-ahead. Stay away from the gates and all that unless your father or I am with you o.k? I wanna be safe about this."

Spencer nodded, filing the information away for later dissection even as he agreed. He hadn't really been planning on going out or anything anyway. He knew next to nothing about Beverly Heights and the local hangouts sounded way too high class for his tastes. He was much more interested in finding out more about the mansion, and better ways to wrangle this stupid ghost. "I'll probably be to occupied with redecorating my room mom, you don't need to worry!" he agreed, flinching as an invisible foot kicked him in the shin. His mom didn't seem to notice, smiling and giving him a hug before heading back to the dining room.

=============================================================================================================================================

This kid just never seemed to learn. Billy gave him a solid (or as solid as he could manage) kick in the shin the moment he'd mentioned his room. As if he'd ever let Spensore redecorate, the kid obviously had terrible tastes, and Billy wouldn't let any of that near his room! He watched as the kid glared in the general direction of his face and stomped out of the kitchen, squeezing the trophy angrily in his grubby little hands.

"Why won't he let it go?" Billy groaned, floating after Spencer grumpily, never taking his eyes off his precious trophy. The minute he got that back, he'd probably have to bleach it, what, with how long it had spent in the little turds dirty hands. He honestly couldn't even remember what he'd even got that trophy for, but that didn't mean it didn't have sentimental value! For all he knew, that trophy had been for a super important achievement, or was a one of a kind keepsake! This kid was playing with fire, that's all Billy knew.

He followed Spencer as he made his way around the mansion, looking at various decorations and furniture with the same quiet calculating look he'd given everything else that Billy owned. It irritated Billy so much! This kid should be marveling at all the cool stuff he had, it was a Cobra head fantasy in here! He hadn't even looked twice at the Freaky Tiki room! "You're serious?" He deadpanned as Spencer spared the most blasé glance at the waterslide he'd ever seen. He was doing it on purpose, he had to be! "A water slide? Color me unimpressed. How cliché can you get?" Spencer scoffed moving onto the patio with a bored expression.

Billy wouldn't take this, not now, not ever! "You know what? You asked for this!" Billy exclaimed, snagging Spencer by the back of the shirt and shoving him right in front of the waterslide again. He rolled his eyes at the aggravated protests the kid was trying to voice, instead, giving Spencer a hearty shove down the slide and smiling at the sweet sound of his distressed cries as he fell down. Billy flew down the slide himself, and watched as a newly soaked Spencer broke the surface of the pool with the most undignified splutter Billy had ever heard. "Ha! Hah Ha Ha! Now who's all wet?" Billy chuckled, laughing even harder as Spencer dragged himself out of the pool like a wet cat. Billy looked into the pool hopefully, praying that in his shock, Spencer had dropped the trophy. Almost as if in response, Spencer pulled the trophy out from his pocket and waved it around mockingly. "Better try next time, you jerk!" he jeered, trudging back inside, grumbling something about 'changing clothes".

"Awww! Come on!" Billy whined, pouting for a moment before getting an amazing idea. Billy quickly flew through the floor into his room and picked up Spencer's bag. Squeezing it, he forced it to become intangible like him, phasing through the floor with it the same moment Spencer entered the room. "How about we play a fun game of Hide and Bro seek?" Billy declared, zipping through the house to find the perfect hiding spot.

========================================================================================================================================

Spencer was just about one more straw away from trashing this entire mansion. Shoving him into the pool was one thing, stealing his stuff was a whole other story! "You know? For a ghost all about protecting stuff? You seem to have no problem messing with mine!" He yelled out. He wasn't even sure the ghost was there, but he'd bet it was, just on the basis that it seemed to enjoy messing with him so much, it wouldn't want to miss watching him treasure hunt completely soaked.

He went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel to try and dry himself somewhat, not wanting to face questions from the rest of his family. 'Why are you soaking wet Spencer?' and 'Where are your clothes Spencer?'. He just wasn't in the mood, he had a bag to find. He tossed the now wet, chlorine scented towel onto a nearby hangar and started searching around the room. For all he knew, the ghost was trying to get him to go on some long excursion, when in reality, it was under his nose all along. After a few minutes of searching he was finding that to not be the case. His bag was too big to easily hide, and if it wasn't in the more obvious places, he was going to have to look someplace else.

He headed downstairs, casting quick glances around the more empty rooms, and searching a little more thoroughly around the cluttered rooms. Each time he came up empty, the panic nestled in his chest grew a little more. What if the ghost had phased it into the concrete, or thrown it into a lake, or burned it? How would he know? What if he never found it, what would he do? He stopped searching the tiki room for a moment to collect himself. If the ghost was hiding his stuff from him, he could threaten it with the trophy, and the ghost knew it, so it probably didn't destroy his stuff. It was more likely that if he raised the stakes, the ghost would want some leverage, and it would lose that if it destroyed his things, so it probably hid his stuff in a place it didn't think he could go.

"So where can't I go?" he wondered aloud, looking around himself thoughtfully for a few minutes. Then it hit him, and he almost wished it didn't."You didn't…" he begged, more to himself than the possibly present ghost. If his stuff was where he thought it was, it was certainly an... interesting place to hide it. "I hate you…" he declared, hoping the ghost was there to hear it, because it was true. He then shoved the trophy into his front pocket, making sure it wouldn't slip out without him noticing. He made his way to the door for a moment before stopping, thinking about his current plan of action for a moment. He'd promised his mom...But he needed his stuff! He had important things in there, irreplaceable and priceless stuff he just had to get back! And if his bag really was where he thought, it wasn't safe, and he had to get to it before someone else did!

He opened the front door, closing it quietly behind him as he ducked into some nearby hedges and started making his way through the garden. He held back a gasp as a security guard came into view, and slid back into the hedge behind him. He'd forgotten about the security! How was he going to get his stuff if they were there? He could just tell them the situation, but it didn't seem like the sort of thing they would help out with. 'Hey Mr Security Guy! A ghost stole my stuff and hid it somewhere around the gates just to mess with me! Could you let me take a look around?'

"Yeah, no." Spencer sighed, crawling in the opposite direction of the guard as he wormed his way to the other side of the garden. His damp clothes were getting super muddy, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He had a mission, and he wasn't going to stop until he had his stuff back. He finally made his way to a section of the gate, covered in vines and bushes, hoping the foliage would provide some cover from the guards and the Cobra Heads outside. The idea of one of those psychos seeing him gave him the shivers.

"Alright ghost!" he stage whispered, eyes scanning for any sign of his orange and brown bag as he slowly crawled beside the gate. "Let's see how good you are at hiding."

Billy would be lying if he said he wasn't a little impressed. The kid had managed to figure out exactly where he'd hidden his ugly bag only a half hour after finding it missing. He'd expected him to take at least all day looking for it. He was kind of surprised Spencer seemed so determined to find it though, it was just a single bag of stuff. Billy had lost more luggage during plane flights without so much as noticing unless he was explicitly told. "Must be a poor people thing." He surmised, floating beside the kid as he crawled through his garden to the side gates, then started searching.

==========================================================================================================================================

"It's not on this side, Spender contender~" He hummed, he'd hidden the bag allllll the way on the other side of the gates, near the back where the guards were less vigilant. He hadn't wanted one of them to see the bag and return it to Spencer or something. That would have ruined the game!

He jumped as Spencer ducked under a bush, Billy almost copying him, before he remembered he was invisible, and had no reason to hide. He looked around, seeing nothing, then poked his head through the vine covered fence and saw what the big deal was.

The greeter's hadn't looked this menacing from the window, but up close, he could see why Spencer was hiding, they looked kind of rabid. "Whoa Spencer fencer, your greeters kinda suck." He puzzled, confused as to why Spencer's family would have wanted any of these people at the housewarming party. "Wait." he gasped looking back down at Spencer as he slowly made his way away from the group of crappy greeters while still staying near the fence. "Are you even having a housewarming party?" Billy questioned, not caring if he didn't get an answer. While he might not want the Wright's in his mansion, he certainly had nothing against parties, and the thought of the family missing such an amazing excuse to throw one was a crime!

"When you finally find that dumb bag of yours, we are going to have words!" Billy swore, even if they couldn't talk, Billy was having none of this! Before the Wrights left, he'd make sure they threw at least one party, if they were going to crash in his house, they were going to follow his rules! There were only two rules in Billy's house, number one, 'Party all night, every night.' and two, 'Billy's Rulz Rule!'. Just as Billy was mulling over how he'd manage to get those two points across to Spencer later, he was startled out his thoughts at the realization that Spencer had disappeared.

"It's not your turn to hide yet Spencer! Where are you?" Billy called, zipping around in search of his unwilling play mate, and turning up empty at every turn. Billy kept searching, even going back into the mansion to look for him, but found nothing. "Dude, where are you?" Billy yelled, huffing in frustration at the knowledge that even if Spencer was within ear shot, he wouldn't be able to hear him. Billy checked up on all the family members, speculating that maybe, they'd all decided to pack up a scram, but no such luck. Jessica was practicing kicks in his yoga room (that girl was seriously scary, and weirdly familiar?) The mom was playing hairdresser on a mannequin in the kitchen, dying it crazy colors and trying out even crazier styles on the poor thing. The dad was in the garage, ignoring the limo in favor of cutting and chipping away a little chunk of wood.

'This family is seriously weird.' Billy gathered, still seeing no sign of Spencer wherever he looked. He flew outside again, trying to ignore the squeamish, knotted feeling in his stomach, and started looking around the fence area, heading over to where he'd hidden the bag, hoping that maybe Spencer found it. What Billy found was less than great. The bag was still there, but it looked like it had been moved, and what's more, the trophy Spencer had been carrying had been dropped right on top of it. Billy inspected the area and discovered there was a gaping hole in the gate. "Someone cut my gate!" He marveled, half impressed, and half upset. If everything he was seeing here meant what he thought it did, Spencer was in big trouble.

Bill poked his head through the hole and saw a grassy path that lead to a very nice looking car, though it could really do with a paint job, who thought neon yellow was a good look? Just as Billy was about to investigate, the car started, and skidded away. "Wait!" Billy cried out, instinctively flying after it as quickly as he could. He tried not to think too hard about why he didn't want Spencer to be kidnapped, instead focussing on the fact that he'd promised Spencer words over that house warming party, and words are what he was gonna get. "Your greeters are seriously the worst!" he yelled, flying after the car as he slowly lost sight of it in the distance.

=======================================================================================================================================

Spencer had been making progress. After sneaking past guards and Cobra Heads alike, he'd almost made it halfway through the gated area. It was then that he'd seen the familiar colors of his beloved bag, he'd almost laughed, but stayed quiet as he crawled over to it hastily. He unzipped it and rifled through it to make sure everything was still inside, that ghost was probably the type to stoop to stealing his stuff. After doing a mental tally of all his things, he'd let out a sigh of relief, zipped his bag closed, and was preparing for the arduous journey back to the front door with luggage in tow, when he heard something. He crouched down and listened, holding his breath in an attempt to hear better.

Clink Clink

Spencer turned his head and focused on a section of the gate nearby, where the noise was most certainly coming from. He was about to try and get a closer look, when suddenly a foot was kicking through the gate, knocking a five foot hole in it. "Holy crap-!" He blurted out, forgetting his sneaky and silent routine at the sight.

"Who said that?" The foot asked, then someone was crawling through the hole, and pulling themselves through. Spencer felt his blood run cold at the sight. It was a Cobra Head, they were breaking into the Mansion! Spencer opened his mouth, sucking in a breath to scream, before a sweaty, gross hand slammed over his mouth. He tried to bite them, but they used their other hand to grab his hair and pulled hard. Before he could get his bearings, he felt himself being pulled through the hole in the gate by the hair, and thrown to the ground.

"Is that who I think it is?" A pompous looking Cobra Head asked, looking down at him angrily, much to Spencer's displeasure. He was about to respond, or cry for help, when he suddenly came to the realization that he couldn't breathe. He choked as more Cobra Heads surrounded him, one of them kicking his legs harshly as the Cobra Head who'd dragged him through the gate kicked his stomach again. 'So that's why breathing hard.' Spencer thought, for some reason unable to bring himself to panic. 'I'm in shock or something.' he guessed as another Cobra Head threw a rock at him, hitting his back painfully.

"You shouldn't have come to The Cobra Mansion." The rich looking Cobra Head hissed, turning his nose up at Spencer as another Cobra Head threw something at him. "You're family made a big mistake when they crossed us." Spencer wanted to respond, maybe show him a certain gesture that really represented all his current feelings, but before he could, a boot clad foot was coming straight at his face, and then everything went dark.

"-idiotic idea was-" Spencer tried to open his eyes, but found only one of them was working at the moment. "-can't just put him back, the guards-" He tried to get up, but his arms were tied behind his back and his legs were bound together. "-fault for moving in in the first place-" He felt around his mouth with his tongue, remembering he'd been kicked in the face. He really didn't want to lose a tooth, rich or not, going to the dentists was the worst. "-think he's awake-"

"Where am I…?" Spencer croaked, sitting up to the best of his ability in the back seat of the car, looking around the surprisingly expensive looking interior. 'It figures even kidnappers are rich here.' he thought, looking out the window. It was darker outside than it had been when he'd been awake last. "Just stay quiet, don't make me kick you again." The Cobra Head Kicker threatened from the front seat, glancing back at Spencer menacingly. Spencer scooted back, nerves finally starting to work as the pain from said kicks started to sting and throb. He tried to take deep breaths and calm down to think, but at this point he was finally awake, and he was scared. He looked out the window again as the mansion faded in the distance behind him. He really, really should have listened to him mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what the Cobra Heads were planning on doing once they got inside the gate? We may never know. I tried to make Billy extra nasty this chapter, but in the end, he's still a big softie. And poor Spencer! I was originally planning on a smaller altercation, but ended up pulling off a full on kidnapping. My hands just slipped! Cobra Heads aren't exactly the most sound of mind, and can you blame them? I'd probably have a few screws loose if I lived in a world where Billy Joe Cobra not only lived, but was so unfairly taken from his adoring fans. The injustice of it all! Good thing for Spencer and the Cobra Heads, he still walks, or floats, among us!


	8. Eighth Episode! Billy Learns Tap!

Billy zipped around Beverly Heights desperately, looking for any car that even slightly resembled the one he'd lost track of. He was minutes away from panic when he finally caught sight of the banana yellow eyesore, parked right in front of one of the nicer mansions in the area. Billy flew down and peeked inside the car, only to find it depressingly empty.

He phased inside anyway and looked around for any sign that might indicate his suspicions. When he inspected the back seats he found muddy grass stains, and the vague scent of chlorine. Oh yeah, Spencer had been here alright. No one with such a nice, if not unfortunately colored car would allow it to suffer even one coffee stain, much less a soccer moms nightmare, unless they were occupied with something even more pressing than car care. "I'm going all Sherlock Bromes right now!" Billy boasted, floating towards the mansion excitedly, momentarily forgetting the urgency of the situation.

He stopped to get a good look at the outside of the mansion and scoffed, a little upset that it seemed to be bigger than his. At least his mansion was taller, and way cooler than this one. "Not the brocus right now BJC, get your priorities straight dude!" Billy scolded, shaking his head and phasing inside. He ended up phasing into an arcade room that had Billy making a mental tally of everything he was holding against the owner of this place. Why hadn't he thought of an arcade room? He searched around the place a bit, but Spencer was nowhere to be found, and while he was tempted to try messing with some of the cooler looking games, he was here for a reason.

"I'll deal with you, later" Billy said to the Miss ClackMan he'd had his eye on, and flew into the next room. This place looked like some sort of study or office, super boring compared to the arcade room, not that Billy was keeping track or anything. He messed with a few books on the shelves and a bust or two, but no secret passages opened up, so he moved on. Billy searched every room he came across, equal parts begrudgingly impressed (An indoor rock climbing wall? Really?) and frustratingly worried (Where was this kid?).

Billy was feeling an odd mixture of the two (He'd scoffed at this dude's indoor waterslide before recognizing the painful irony of it.) when he'd finally entered a room with a person in it. Sadly, it was the wrong person, or, persons to be exact. "-telling you! This can really work out in our favor. Do you really think the police are going to investigate me? I can buy and sell anyone who comes snooping around here. And look! Now we have an actual chance of getting what we all want!" One of the greeters said to the other buffer looking one.

As Billy flew closer he was shocked to see that both greeters were wearing his stuff! Not exactly his, as in belonging to him, but stuff with his face on it. In fact, they were so decked out he'd even go so far as to say...They were Cobra Heads! "Et tu, Brote?" Billy gasped, placing a hand onto his chest in dismay. His Cobra Heads where little angels! To think in his absence, they would stoop so low as to become kidnappers? "I raised you better than this!" He scolded, floating over to his wayward sons with a disappointed scowl.

"Listen, we just have to demand the Wright's move out, give back the money they got in the will, and we're golden! The Cobra's memory is secured! Nobody has to get hurt... Unless you want him to, of course." The blonde Cobra Head assured, halting Billy's decent. They wanted to use Spencer...To get rid of the Wrights? To get his mansion back? Wasn't that...What he'd been trying to do? "But...I…" Billy fumbled, thoughts a confusing jumble at all the new revelations as he flew away from the troublesome duo. He needed some time to think.  
=================================================================================================================================================

Spencer was officially panicking. He'd tried to keep some semblance of calm when the Head Kicker had dragged him out of the car and shoved him through the front doors of some random mansion, he'd even tried to act confident when they'd gagged and blindfolded him and shoved him in some cramped mystery space.

Quite a bit of time had passed since then, and Spencer no longer had any calm or confidence to spare. 'This is like one of those cautionary children's tales they tell you in preschool.' Spencer thought, idly trying to pull his hands out from the ropes restraining them. 'If you don't listen to your parents kids, a ghost will trick you into getting kidnapped, so stay in school, and don't do drugs!' He started rubbing his head against the wall he was leaning on in an attempt to pull off the blindfold. He was super uncomfortable in whatever place they'd put him, but he was even more uncomfortable with the fact that he didn't know where he'd been put.

"Mmphh!" Spencer tried, slamming his head against the wall roughly out of frustration. This was a nightmare! He'd been honest to goodness kidnapped! And by a rich Cobra Head no less. What were the odds that anyone would come around here suspecting this jerk? Rich people got away with murder all the time! Spencer just hoped they wouldn't forget about him wherever he was, he would need to go to the bathroom eventually, and he refused to wet himself.

He took a few shaky breaths and tried to calm down a bit. If he wanted to survive all this, he was going to have to be level headed and cooperative. He'd watched enough movies to know if you started freaking out, so would everyone else. Emotions were contagious and he didn't need or want two freaked out kidnappers, he'd rather survive all this in one piece, thank you very much. Spencer pressed his ear against the wall and held his breath, hoping he'd be able to hear whatever his kidnappers were planning. He'd feel better if he had some idea on what they were planning on doing with him, or to him.

He tried straining his ears to listen for any voices, but no such luck. Sighing, he slumped against the wall until he was parallel to the floor and closed his eyes. Not that it changed the view much, but he was tired, and the adrenaline was fading again, leaving him physically and emotionally worn. He refused to fall asleep, despite his exhaustion and the temptingly dark space. If he fell asleep, he could be caught off guard, and he might miss out on something important. He couldn't risk losing any advantage, no matter how small.

As Spencer's breath finally evened out, the oppressive quiet was broken by a strange tapping sound.

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

Spencer wiggled furiously into a sitting up position and pressed his ear against the wall again, brow creasing in confusion. He hadn't just thought he heard something had he?

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

There it was again! What was making that sound? Was one of the kidnappers doing that? It was kind of familiar…

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

Spencer knew he'd heard it somewhere before! It was only tapping, but there was a tune in it, he was sure! But when had he heard it...?

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

"Mph!" Spencer remembered! That ghost, it had played some sort of song last night. It was the same beat, or rhythm or whatever. Was the ghost here? Was it trying to communicate or something? "Mphh!" He tried again, but was met with only more tapping.

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

Spencer couldn't really call for help or make a ruckus without risking being heard by the Cobra Heads. He would have to be smart about this. He pulled away from the wall a bit and positioned his bound wrists so they were close to the wall. He waited a moment for the tapping again.

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

'Alright, two, then three!" Spencer thought, then he tapped back.

**_Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap_ **

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Billy was conflicted. He felt like he was being pulled in three different directions, all the while his stomach was doing somersaults and leaving him too nauseous to make any sense of it. On one hand he wanted to save Spencer, the kid was a pain in the butt, but he didn't deserve to be kidnapped! After all the things he'd put him through, piling on a kidnapping was a bit too much, even for Billy.

On the other hand the Cobra Heads were on to something! If they made the rest of the Wright family chose between Spencer and Billy's mansion and fortune, he was pretty sure they would choose Spencer. Billy had been trying to get under the skin of just one of them for almost two days, but if he let his misguided followers follow through with their plan, he'd be rid of them forever!

And then on the third hand, Billy was left struggling with the fact that not only was his agenda on the same page as two kidnappers, but his beloved Cobra Heads as a whole had been reduced to an angry horde of violent jerks. They were supposed to represent the best of Billy's fans! The best part of his brand! What did they represent now? "Exactly what you've become." He mumbled, then he gasped at his mouths betrayal and slapped a hand over it.

He tried to weigh his options, drumming his fingers against the floor thoughtfully as he kept a closed fist against his traitorous mouth. He wasn't being a jerk. He was protecting what was his. And so what if his fans were trying to respect that? They were his fans, his Cobra Heads, it was their job to uphold the Cobra way in his absence. And he had been away for quite a while, not by choice, but still. He couldn't expect them not to make a few mistakes…

"But I'm here now." He admitted, still idly drumming his fingers to a nameless tune as he thought. "I can actually do something about this!" But should he? He could either just let this all play out, or set Spencer loose and deal with the Wright Family himself, but either way he would have to act sooner or later. Would he be able to go through with just letting the kidnappers do what they wanted? Would it be better than getting rid of the Wrights himself?

"Why are the important decisions always so haaaaarrd?" Billy whined, rubbing his face in frustration. Billy slumped onto the floor, still drumming his finger anxiously and unable to come to a decision. 'Eventually, the choice will be made for me.' Billy admitted to himself, resting his head on the floor and closing his eyes. All this thinking was really exhausting! "This is why I used to pay people for this kind of thing." Billy murmured. He was just about to take a nap right then and there when he heard something.

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

Billy shot up and looked for the source of the noise, recognizing it as a copy of his own. He flew in it's general direction before stopping, having lost the source. Who had done that? He'd thought that nobody could hear him, so how could they hear him drumming his fingers? "Wait, I can still touch stuff! Duh!" He laughed, drumming his fingers on a nearby wall as his thoughts raced. If he could be heard like this, maybe he could learn morse code or something!

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

There it was again! He flew in what he recognized as the opposite direction of his Cobra Heads. Maybe it was Spencer calling for help! He stopped at that thought, remembering his earlier dilemma. If he let Spencer go…

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

Screw it! Spencer needed him, and if it was The Cobra he wanted, then The Cobra he was gonna get! He didn't need his little misguided Cobra Heads taking care of his business anyway. He was a grown man who could make his own decisions, and kidnapping was a no-go for him, no exceptions! He followed the tapping as it led him to…

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

"The Boring Room? I checked here! Spencer, what gives?" Billy protested, looking around and seeing no sign of the hostage in question anywhere. He was sure he'd checked for secret passage ways too, he flew over to the book shelves and phased through them only to come out in another room he'd already checked. Was Spencer seriously in the least interesting room in this stupidly cool mansion?

**Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap**

Billy jumped as he floated over to the true source of the tapping. "The carpet…?" Billy squinted at the colorful decoration for a moment before phasing through the floor to look under it. Instead of solid dirt, Billy found something much more interesting. "Spencer!"

=================================================================================================================================================  
Spencer was starting to get impatient. He'd been tapping for a few minutes now and he still hadn't been found. What's more, the mystery tapper had stopped tapping after the first response, worrying Spencer to no end. What if the maybe-ghost had given up? Or just decided Spencer wasn't worth the trouble?

Before Spencer could resort to slamming his shoulder into the wall instead, he felt a sudden chill run up his spine and two very long arms wrap around his middle and pulled him up. Spencer would have probably screamed like a little girl at the surprise hug if he hadn't been gagged, thank god for small favors. When he tried to wriggle out of the alien embrace, the arms only held him tighter until a strange feeling overcame him and then he was being lifted up and set down on...Carpet?

The arms let go and pulled his blindfold off, blinding him momentarily with the sudden presence of so much light. "Mph." Spencer huffed, hoping it got the whole would-you-mind message across. Spencer was a little unnerved as he watched his gag turn invisible for a moment before reappearing on the other side of the room. "Thanks." Spencer gasped, looking around the room as he felt the presence of his wrist bindings fall away.

It looked like he was in some kind of office, but there was no closet, and he'd been pretty sure that he'd been in a small cramped space before. "Where was I?" He wondered, rubbing the soreness out of his wrists as his legs were released from their confines. He watched as the carpet he was sitting on was lifted from the other side and when he crawled over to look, he saw the rectangular shaped cracks in the floor, tell tale signs of a trap door. "Oh, I see. Those jerks really tried to cover their tracks, huh?"

When he received no response, Spencer realized that he wanted-No, needed, to have some sort of communication system with this ghost. If he was going to escape, he needed to cooperate with this thing, even if this whole mess was it's fault in the first place. "Okay, uh...You were the one making those tapping noises right?" Spencer asked cautiously, looking around the room for some space to focus on.

**Tap Tap Tap**

"Oh! That's you then. Well, we should probably use that so we can...talk? I guess? Like, one for yes, two for no?" He suggested, hoping the ghost would agree. He was still nervous about the kidnappers lurking around and he wanted to iron this out fast.

**Tap**

"Alright then! So, do you know the way out?" He asked, standing up and brushing off his clothes. He had been blindfolded for the majority of his time in this place, so he would have to rely on this ghost for the general layout and way out.

**Tap**

"Great! Are the kidnappers still in the mansion?" He prodded, he'd really didn't want to run into them again, especially Head Kicker. That guy he could go the rest of his life not seeing, and it still wouldn't be enough time.

**Tap**

"Ugh. O.k! So...How about this? You scope out ahead of me, see if it's safe for me to leave this room, where to go and all. If they're outside this door, you tell me no. If not, we escape and you tap...three times if you see them, so I can hide or something. O.k?"

**Tap**

"O.k! Remember, one means yes, two means no, three means danger! I'm counting on you!" Spencer reminded, nervous, but way more hopeful than he had been a few minutes before. He had an invisible, indestructible, kind of cruddy, but still surprisingly helpful ally, and right now, it was the only shot he had!

Spencer waited for what seemed like hours as the ghost checked the area for potential danger. He was aware that in being unable to see it, he was having to place a crap ton of trust in something that had went out of its way to torment him for the past two days, but he was kind of out of options. Just when he was about to take a peek out the door, Spencer heard his que.

**Tap**

Billy was really digging this new communication system they had going on. Yeah, it didn't allow for much more than one word answers, but it was a big step up from the all encompassing, crippling silence he'd been experiencing for the past-How many years had it been? He couldn't really remember, but it felt like forever, and Billy never wanted to go back!

As he lead Spencer out of the Boring Room, Billy kept a vigilant eye out for any of his lost children. He couldn't bring himself to hurt them, so he didn't really know what he would do if they caught sight of Spencer. Probably turn Spencer invisible for a bit, though Billy didn't know how long he'd be able to keep him that way. He hadn't really tested out the extent of his ghostly abilities on living stuff. For all he knew, Spencer might only be able to stay invisible for a few seconds! He was actually kind of curious about it, but he was pretty sure the time for testing was anytime but now.

As they slowly made their way towards the front door, Spencer saw the indoor waterslide and snorted, leaving Billy with very mixed feelings. Maybe Spencer just didn't like water slides. Whatever the case, now that they had an official tap related language, he was going to try asking him about it. 'Is that before, or after you kick his family out of my house?" His brain sneered, causing Billy to frown. It was right though, Spencer and him couldn't do much talking if he was busy trying to drive him out of the Mansion.

"Probably after then." He shrugged, trying to shake off the knotted feeling in his stomach. He was about to turn down the stairs to the second floor when he saw the blonde Cobra Head heading this way. "Uh! Spencer!" He warned, the rest of his body catching up with him as he tapped hurriedly on the nearest surface.

**TapTapTap!**

Spencer ran to the nearest closet the moment he heard the first tap, tensing the muscles in his arms to not slam the door as he tried to slowly shut it close. He didn't close it all the way, opting to peek out the crack in the door as he watched the stuck up Cobra Head march right by him briskly, not even glancing in Spencer's direction. He waited in silence for a few moments after the footsteps faded away, and listened for the ghost to give him the o.k.

**Tap**

"That was pretty close…" Spencer said, looking in the direction he'd watched the pompous jerk go, the gears in his head turning as he did. "Wait...wasn't he heading to the office I was in? Do you think…?"

**Tap**

Spencer nodded, not needing to clarify as he quickly made his way to the front doors. If they found out he was missing, they'd be on him in no time. He yanked open the doors and took a deep breath as he started to run, gaining a new appreciation for the fresh air he'd always taken for granted. Halfway through the driveway he slowed, realizing a glaring problem with his plan. "Um...Hey, ghost? How do I get back…?" He pointed out, looking around at the night time scenery of Beverly Heights.

If it had gotten dark by the time the kidnappers had brought him here, and now it was night, it would probably take an hour to get back by foot, and that was if he made it back home before they came after him. They would probably realize he was gone soon, and when they did..Well they had a car, and he had old sneakers, so it was no contest. He was about to backtrack, 'Maybe use a land line inside the house to call for help?' when he felt an invisible force pick him up bridal style, and start to rise up…

"Ooooh No! Nooo way, Jose! I-No! Put me down!" Spencer begged/demanded, the ghost seemed to hesitate for a moment, before lowering again, and setting him down. Spencer let out a sigh of relief and bent down for a moment to calm down. He looked behind him to see a few rocks on the pavement skidding around randomly, like someone was kicking them. He couldn't help but imagine someone dejectedly kicking rocks, and the mental image made something in his chest twist painfully.

"Look dude..I appreciate it and all, it's just…" Spencer thought his words through, making sure he didn't insult it. "I'm kind of scared of flying...It was a good idea, but the thought of going so high up in the air, no parachute, no plane, just up there…" he shivered, and started walking down the road, trying to shake off the bundle of nerves he was starting to become.

As he made his way down the street in the direction he'd remembered coming from, he felt a familiar weight on his shoulder. Spencer looked at his shoulder to see a vague hand print in his shirt folds, and instead of a painful death grip, the hand actually felt comforting. He smiled at that, and picked up his pace as he made his way home.

"Hey...I just wanted to say, Thank you." Spencer admitted as he felt the weight of the hand lift from his shoulder. "You didn't have to look for me, and I know you and I haven't really gotten along… O.k, we've been at each other's throats. But you saved me anyway, and I want you to know I really appreciate it." He smiled as the ghost started tapping his shoulder, and kept talking. "I think now that we have some way to communicate, we should try to work out our issues, you know? I don't want to fight you anymore more if I can help it, and-" The tapping on his shoulder hadn't stopped, and suddenly cold invisible hands were grabbing his shoulders and spinning his around.

"Hey! What's the big…" Spencer's eyes widened at the sight of two familiar headlights attached to a very familiar car advanced towards him. The words 'Deer caught in the headlights.' passed through his mind for a moment as his entire body froze. Thankfully, firm invisible hands spun him back around and started pushing him forward, almost dragging him away from the steadily encroaching car.

=================================================================================================================================================  
Billy was feeling pretty confused right about now. Spencer was being really nice and friendly, thanking him and all, meanwhile Billy had only minutes before been thinking of the pros and cons of letting the kid get used for ransom. Billy had felt a little upset (Alright, he'd been a bit more than a little.) when Spencer had cut off his flying plan, but the kid had looked pretty shaken up. He'd been through a lot of crazy stuff in one day, Billy could kind of understand being shaken up by a junk load of big changes all happening at once.

He'd been listening to the kid talk (Which only made Billy feel even more conflicted about things.) when he'd heard the sound of a car starting. It was quiet enough that the car in question had to be a nice one, and that didn't bode well for either of them. When Billy turned around he saw just what he'd been hoping not to see. "C'mon! It hasn't even been five minutes!" Billy objected, turning around and tapping Spencer shoulder incessantly. Instead of paying attention to his emergency taps, the kid totally ignored him.

"Dude! What's the point of Morse Brode or you don't listen?!" He scolded, grabbing both of Spencer shoulders and forcefully facing him towards the danger at hand. He'd expected Spencer to scream and run away or something like that, but the kid did just the opposite. Billy felt every muscle in the kids body tense and stiffen, it was like he'd been turned to stone at the sight of the car, which Billy could understand, it was a really unfortunate paint job, such a waste! 'He's probably in shock or something Cobra! Get him out of there!' his thoughts screamed, and Billy listened for once.

Billy's brain kicked into gear, his body following soon after as he spun Spencer around and pushed the kid into a sprint. He desperately wanted to just fly Spencer to the mansion and avoid all this, but he was afraid the kid might die of a heart attack if he tried. They really should have planned how they were going to get the kid back to his house before this all started instead of wasting valuable time on all that mushy talk. They'd gotten cocky and loitered around for too long, now Spencer was going to get kidnapped again! 'What if they're not planning on capturing him again? What if they just kill him and get it over with?' Billy pushed Spencer harder at the thought and spared a glance behind him, the car was gaining on him fast, he wouldn't be able to force Spencer to outrun them on foot! "Get off the road!" He yelled out, mostly meant for himself, the kid still couldn't hear him.

He grabbed Spencer by the armpits and lifted him ever so slightly off the ground as he steered him to the far right, directly into the sandy dunes at the side of the road. "Hey! I said no flying man!" Spencer complained. Billy rolled his eyes and dropped him, shoving him forward again as the kid lost his balance for a moment. "We don't have time for this! Run! Run run run!" He urged as Spencer weaved through rocks and cactuses.

Just as Billy was about to let his nerves relax for a moment (He wondered if this was that 'Strung out' feeling his entourage always complained about when they though he wasn't listening?) The sound of tires against sandy terrain hit his ears with a vengeance. "We know you're out there Wright! Just come to the car! You have no chance of getting back to the Cobra Mansion, or anywhere for that matter! My family's place is on private land! Just come back, I promise we won't be mad...much." The Cobra Heads revved their car menacingly and started to slowly make their way into the desert, headlights searching for their unfortunate prey.

Billy was pretty sure his lost sheep were right. He'd seen the area as he'd flown over it, there was no way Spencer would be getting any help from some good Samaritan without a hour long journey ahead of him. He was pretty sure the kidnappers were going to brave the sandy terrain if they thought they had too, and the day Spencer outran a Jaguar was they day Billy renounced his place in the Famous People Hall Of Fame. "There is one way…" He nagged, glaring at Spencer as he continued to shakily navigate the sand dunes and tumbleweeds desperately.

He followed him and tapped his shoulder 'no' a few times. "What?" Spencer gasped, turning to glance behind him at what Billy knew looked like a empty space in the air. Billy bit his thumb nervously for a moment, then made a decision. "I'm really sorry Spencer, but this is the only way!" he said anxiously as he gave Spencer the most secure hug he could manage. "What-Hey!" Spencer protested, lifting his arms in confusion as Billy took a deep breath he knew he didn't need, and left the ground.

**_AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what those kidnappers thought when they saw Spencer scream-fly away? Legends may be told of that peculiar sight for years to come. Don't worry about the Cobra heads, they'll get what's coming to them, and we will be seeing them again. The next chapters gonna be a doozy folks, so hang on tight!


	9. Nineth Episode! Billy Plays For Spencer!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy looked away from the sad sight before him. He could barely handle his own feelings, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle Spencer's.

He couldn't see. He'd tried, just once he had to try, but the second he'd seen the shrinking car, the vast scenery, his eyes had closed on their own. He was keeping his mouth closed too. He wasn't proud to say he'd screamed the whole way so far until he'd swallowed something and ever since then, he'd kept his mouth shut. It had actually helped, all things considered. All he had to focus on was his breathing, the sound of the wind blowing by his ears, and the almost comforting presence of arms wrapped around him. If he just pretended he was on the ground during a windy day while getting a very long hug, he'd be golden.

Spencer unclenched his fists and slowly wrapped them around his invisible partner, swallowing at the feeling of the wind whistling between his fingers. With his eyes closed, everything else he felt had a much stronger presence. He finally came in contact with...Something. It felt like a jacket, and when he pressed his hands more firmly on the invisible back, he felt the slight shift of ghostly shoulder blades. _'Kinda cool.'_ He thought. He couldn't feel any heat, but unlike when the ghost had grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it within an inch of bruising, it wasn't ice cold anymore. _'Maybe it's only cold when it's angry, or when it wants to be.'_ he guesstimated.

Before he could get around to investigating more, or just asking the ghost outright, he felt them suddenly drop, effectively shutting out any thought that wasn't _'Oh God!'_. He clung to his see through lifeline impulsively, and after another feeling akin to that of a dropping elevator, cracked his eye open for a moment. Both eyes snapped open when the image registered. He was almost home! He'd seen the same exact scenery when his family had been driving to the Cobra Mansion for the first time.

"Holy crap! We made it!" He cheered, throwing his arms in the air in triumph for a second before he saw what he was doing and quickly wrapped his arms around his invisible companion again. The ghost gave him a comforting squeeze as he felt it speed up and turn a familiar corner, revealing the Cobra Mansion in all it's semi-familiar glory. Spencer remembered how he felt the first time he'd looked at it, and he was feeling a whole different vibe from it right now. It wasn't exactly home, but for now, it was were his family was, and it was safe.

He blinked some tears from his eyes, not sure if they were there because he was relieved, or because the wind was making his eyes water. Spencer loosened his grip a bit as the ghost slowed around the perimeter of the mansions gates, safely lowering him to the ground within. He didn't realize he was back on the ground until the ghost forcefully pried his arms from it and prodded him. He gave himself a few 'wake up' smacks on the face and was about to get up and make his way to the front doors of the Cobra Mansion, when he felt himself being pulled back by the collar.

"What? What is it?' He asked, then grinned when he saw his bag and lost trophy floating up to him. "Thanks!" he grabbed the bag and the trophy and jogged towards the front doors, completely ignoring the shocked looks of some of the guards. "Hey! What do you-" Spencer didn't stop, instead opting to walk backwards as he responded. "Just, uh...walking around! I live here and all, it's not a crime! Oh, and by the way...there's a hole in the gate! Bye!" The guards all looked a mix between confused and alarmed at his exit as he slammed the doors behind him. Before he could even pull away from the doors he'd shut, an all too familiar and currently worried voice met him.

"Spencer? Is that you? Where have you been all day, I've been worried sick!" His mom called from the downstairs kitchen. Spencer cringed at her questions, he wasn't so sure he wanted to have this talk with him mom right now, or ever really. "I was just, um...Gardening! Outside! I fell asleep so, I just lost track of time! I'm gonna go take a shower now, g'night!" He called back hastily as he ran up the stairs and sprinted to the elevator. He was going to have to face the consequences of his broken promise eventually, but that day was not today!

He sighed as he stepped into the elevator, ignoring the muffled protests of his mom as she tried to catch up with him. When he finally stepped into the room where it all started, he tossed the trophy onto the bed lightly, and prepared to take a shower. He needed to do some damage control if he wanted to stand by his flimsy excuse tomorrow, and something told him the black eye he was feeling couldn't be blamed on a simple gardening accident. Spencer paused to open his bag and take out a pair of PJ's, then stumbled into the bathroom.

===================================================================================================================================  
Billy had held his breath when Spencer had tossed his trophy, but thankfully the kid had been aiming for his bed, and as Billy examined it now, he saw no damage was done. "Daddy won't ever let you out of his sight again! Never ever!" He comforted the poor trophy, caressing it's sleek gold plated surface for a few moments before setting it carefully in its rightful place. As Billy set it down, he noticed it had left a square shaped mark in the dust where it'd been sitting.

"Not...ever…" He whispered, frowning as he turned around to take a look at the bag that Spencer had dropped. He floated over to it, grimacing at the creepy looking blanket inside and rummaging around to see inspect it all. It looked perfectly unscathed after today's events, which was much more than could be said for Spencer, who Billy thought looked like they'd been in a car accident. Maybe even multiple accidents, the kid just didn't sport a black eye well. Billy couldn't help but wonder when he'd gotten it. When he'd found the kid, he'd managed to already have it, so that probably meant Spencer had acquired it sometime during his kidnapping. "Did they beat him up?" Billy worried.

Billy bit his thumb as that familiar twisting feeling started up in his gut again. Was it his fault? Spencer's mom had said 'Stay away from the gates!' and Billy had actively put the kid in a corner! Now Spencer not only broke a promise to his mom because of him, but he'd also been beat up by his Cobra Heads, and then kidnapped by his Cobra Heads, because they wanted to make the Wright family leave his mansion. And in the end, this had all come to pass because Billy had wanted that very same thing!

"Am I like, the _bad guy?_ " Billy whimpered, eyes watering at the thought that he was the villain in all this. He was supposed to be the hero! He'd been trying to protect his stuff! His legacy! He'd finally decided to take a stand and be an active participant in his life, and yet…! "It's true, isn't it? I've become a rebrobate! A desperabro! A broffender of common _decency!_ " He wailed, tears streaming freely from his eyes. He'd never considered it possible, but after all this time, he was actually…. _regretting his decisions?_

Billy found himself unconsciously reaching for a tissue (He really missed his entourage) and wiping away his tears. He was about to blow his nose when he opened his eyes and saw- "Zombies?! _Gross!_ " Billy shrieked, tossing the blanket as far away from himself as possible. He pouted at it for a moment, then sighed. He needed to deal with all this...guilt? Was that the word? Well, whatever it was, he needed to make it stop! "Even if that means... _ugh. Letting the Wrights _stay._ " He grumbled._

_  
_

"You're lucky I'm feeling all this...Whatever this is, Spencer!" Billy spluttered as he glared at the bathroom door. Despite his frustration in the decision, he was already feeling better knowing he wouldn't have to torment the kid anymore. He just wasn't cut out for the whole, 'vengeful poltergeist' deal like he'd wanted to be. Just too loveable maybe? "Like that Jasper guy!" He concluded cheerfully, unaware of the ominous shadow advancing slowly behind him.

"Now! All I have to do is find a way to let Spencer know. He'll be so happy! Maybe I can finally give him a proper tour of this place!" Billy was super excited now that he'd committed to his plan. He was gonna make a proper Cobra Head out of that kid yet! "I should get a piece of paper or something, morse brode is getting kinda old…" He turned around to look for some pen and paper when he found his view completely blocked by… _"What?"_

Billy scooted back to get a better look at the mass that was blocking his view and gasped. "Ewwww! _What the heck?!"_ It was that freaky blanket! And it looked...different. The zombie blanket looked less like a blanket with zombies on it, and more like a blanket made out of zombies. The thing looked like it was sewn out of various samples of skin and filled with flesh instead of cloth, it looked disgusting! "Why do you look even worse? How are you moving? _What is happening?!"_ Billy fretted as he backed away, flying to the other side of the room and hiding behind the couch.

He watched as the weird patchwork monstrosity crawled around the room and started heading towards the elevator. Maybe it was going after the rest of the family? Did in need fresh meat or something? Did it even know how to use an elevator?! _"Wait!"_ He protested, picking up the couch and slamming it in front of the elevator impulsively. He couldn't let this thing eat the Wright family, not after he'd just decided to not kick them out of his house! "You leave them alone, you freaky franken blanket!" He commanded with his best brave face. The blanket growled at him threateningly and Billy screamed, flying under his bed in fear.

This was too scary! He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and go back to the good ol' days when monsters weren't a thing! The blanket bumbled around the room, pressing against windows and bumping into furniture dumbly. Billy didn't know what to do, he'd never seen anything like this before. Should he just leave it be? Should he try to kill it? What even was it? It wasn't a blanket anymore, that was for sure! "I don't know! I need help!" Billy cried, shuddering as the blanket of doom crawled near the bed and started heading towards the bathroom.

"Spencer! _No way_ , Brose!" He objected, flying in front of the bathroom door, closing his eyes, and kicking the blanket as hard as he could. The evil rag was a lot heavier than he'd thought it would be, but thankfully all those dance lessons payed off, because he'd kicked it pretty far back! "And there's more where that came from!" He challenged, striking his best fighting pose and glaring at the franken blanket. The blanket flopped back upright and growled again (How did it do that? It doesn't have a mouth!) then advanced on Billy with a speed he hadn't been aware it possessed. _"Aw crud."_ Billy whimpered, and prepared to hold his ground.

===================================================================================================================  
He'd never thought he'd appreciate a shower as much as he was right now. He'd been really dirty too, he was pretty sure he'd seen a stick fall out of his hair. Of course the shower was super nice like everything else in the Mansion, but he wasn't really complaining, the settings on the shower head were heavenly! "Now this, I could get used to." He sighed, turning off the shower and grabbing a fluffy clean towel off the pile. He dried himself and started to put on his PJ's, then stopped before he put on his pajama shirt to check out his current state.

He was pretty bruised around the stomach and arms, he had a black eye, and few small cuts. "Not that bad…" He concluded. Sure, he looked like he'd gotten beaten up, but not like he'd been beaten up and kidnapped. Unless his mom got a ransom note or something, he could explain away his injuries pretty easily. 'But not that haunted look in your eyes.' he thought sarcastically. He wasn't really sure how he felt about the whole kidnapping business. It had been really scary, but not as bad as it could have been. And nobody but the kidnappers and the ghost would ever know about the whole thing if he had to say anything about it.

"The ghost was weirdly nice during the whole thing…" He mumbled thoughtfully. The ghost had been an antagonistic force for the majority of his stay here, yet it had also saved him. Maybe it was only trying to spook him, but was against actual violence and serious threats? Maybe it was having a change of heart? _'Maybe it's trying to get you to let your guard down.'_ he thought darkly. He didn't have much to back up any of his thoughts, even the pessimistic ones. "I'll just have to see how things go tomorrow." He decided, pulling his pajama top on and hanging up his towel.

He picked up his dirty clothes and opened the bathroom door, prepared to have a talk with the ghost about the treatment of their respective stuff. When he opened the door, all thoughts of conversation flew out the window. " What the heck is _THAT?!"_ He yelled out, dropping his clothes and scrambling back into the bathroom. It looked like some kind of twisted flesh towel had gained sentience and was jerking and stumbling around the room. It flew towards Spencer before he could close the bathroom door and growled. _"Aaaahhhhh!"_ Spencer kicked at it wildly and tried to shut the door on it, only seeming to make it more aggressive.

He would have loved this thing if had been a little less real and in-his-face and more, a cool idea for a short horror film that would never actually exist. Instead, it was trying to climb on top of him and, he assumed, smother him. It was really heavy! "G-get off!" He grunted, opening the door and hastily crawling out of the now cramped bathroom. He skittered out of it's reach and was about to make his way to the elevator when he saw-"Why is the couch here?!" He looked around the room for something to fight it off with when his eyes fell on his bag. Where was his blanket?

Before he could voice his admittedly odd concerns, an invisible force pushed him out of the way as the evil skin cloth lunged for him. He watched as the patchwork nightmare wrangled with something unseen and his mind raced to find some sort of solution. His eyes landed on a commemorative pair of ribbon cutters and something clicked. "Hey ghost! _Catch!"_ He warned, snatching the scissors off the wall and throwing it in the general direction of the beast and his opponent.

For a scary moment, Spencer was worried he'd missed, but at the last second, the scissors halted in midair. "Yes!' He cheered, fist pumping in relief as the scissors snipped the air experimentally and then sliced the skin flap of doom mercilessly. _**"Screeeeeeeeeee!"**_ The creature cried out, wiggling away from the scissors, leaving behind a small chunk of itself. As the scissors chased it's patchy prey, Spencer ran over and picked up the scrap, inspecting it curiously. Suddenly, the scrap transformed from an ugly chunk of rotting flesh to... "My blanket!" Spencer gasped, looking over to the frightened looking monster and floating scissors, seeing the both of them in a new light.

"Stop! Stop hurting it!" He demanded, running over and standing in front of it protectively, glaring at the scissor wielding ghost. The ghost waved the scissors around angrily and tapped the wall in frustration, but Spencer stood his ground. "No way! This isn't a monster, it's my blanket! I've had it since I was a kid, you _can't_ destroy it!" he explained, hoping the ghost would understand. It seemed to care about all this old Billy Joe Cobra stuff, it was probably a big Cobra Head, it should understand caring about things!

The scissors stopped waving around and lowered and Spencer sighed in relief. "Thank you. Now we just need to-" There was a low rumbling sound and a shadow came over him, as Spencer was about to turn around, there was a slicing sound and a deafening screech. _ **"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"**_ He fell to the ground and covered his head instinctively, closing his eyes and waiting till that horrible sound stopped. When it finally did, the silence was deafening, then there was a quieter thumping sound, a if something was dropped, and then nothing. Spencer raised his head and looked behind him. "No... _You didn't!"_ He pleaded to no avail, scooping up scraps of his now fully reverted blanket, utter destroyed.

**Tap Tap Tap**

Spencer whipped his head around to glare in the direction the tapping was coming from, clenching his jaw in anger. He was so stupid! He'd let himself believe the ghost was an ally or something. Now his most treasured possession was destroyed! "You did this!" He accused, pointing angrily at the ghost, one hand still gripping the scraps of his blanket. "How else could something like this happen? Everything that's happened today has been _your fault!"_

He was so angry he was shaking! Spencer looked around the room with only one thought on his mind, 'Make this ghost hurt!'. His eyes locked onto a glass trophy on a shelf and he grabbed it and stared straight at the ghost. "Let's see how _you_ like it!"

**SMASH!**

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He'd been feeling pretty good about himself. He'd actually fought a monster! He was allowed to be a little proud, especially considering he'd been utterly terrified and disgusted while he'd been doing it! He was feeling pretty good about the whole teamwork aspect of the battle as well. Spencer had been pretty smart thinking of using the ribbon cutters, even if Billy was a little sad to have to tarnish them with monster grossness. Billy had been having a perfectly pleasant time cutting up the blanket monster when Spencer had suddenly decided this thing was chill.

"Stop! Stop hurting it!" He'd demanded, standing in front of it protectively and glaring at Billy like he was the bad guy. "Are you serious? This thing wants to eat you or something!" He'd responded, tapping the word danger as he spoke. Spencer was going to get hurt if he didn't get away from that thing! Even now, all scared and shivering, that blanket was probably plotting whatever evil things monsters plotted when they had down time!

"No way! This isn't a monster, it's my blanket! I've had it since I was a kid, you can't destroy it!" he explained, giving Billy the saddest pair of puppy eyes he'd ever seen. "Aw, dang! C'mon Spencer! I can't just…" He sighed, lowering the scissors. He just couldn't keep his slice and dice mojo when the kid looked at him like that. Spencer sighed in relief. "Thank you. Now we just need to-" Billy's eyes widened as he heard the monster growl, then suddenly rise up behind Spencer and lunge. He didn't even think, he just lunged forward and speared the thing, cutting wildly and hoping Spencer wouldn't hate him for this.

The blanket turned horror show had screamed like a banshee, Billy was pretty sure he'd gone deaf, because suddenly everything was super quiet, and there wasn't a monster anymore, just scraps of an old zombie blanket. He dropped the scissors and floated away from the depressing mess, tensing in preparation for Spencer's reaction. Maybe he wouldn't be mad! He'd just saved him after all, and he'd only used the scissors because Spencer had given them to him. So maybe...Spencer knew the thing had attacked him right? He hadn't been facing it so maybe he didn't know that.

"No... _You didn't!"_ Billy cringed and tried to think of some way to explain! Billy tapped the wall "danger", not really having any other way he could say, 'You were being attacked! I just saved you!' and looked to the kid expectantly. "Please, please, don't be angry…" he whispered.

When Spencer turned around, he stopped tapping and gulped in nervousness. He looked really angry. "You did this!" He accused, pointing angrily at Billy, one hand still gripping the scraps of his blanket. "How else could this happen? Everything that's happened today has been _your fault!"_ Billy backed up at the accusation, honesty hurt by the painfully accurate statement. "I didn't want-" he stuttered, he knew Spencer couldn't hear him, what could he do?

The kid was so angry he was shaking! Spencer looked around the room for a moment with scary concentration, grabbed his favorite trophy, and then stared straight at Billy. "Let's see how _you_ like it!"

**SMASH!**

Time didn't slow.

Billy had always thought when important stuff happened, time would slow for a moment, give you some time to process it all. Turns out he was wrong! Time marched on at the same pace it always did, and Billy didn't really feel anything for a few seconds. He looked down at the shattered trophy, and for a moment, he could almost believe it was just a pile of glass shards. That's all it really looked like. Then he noticed something. A little strip of rectangular gold, with the words, Artist of the Decade :Billy Joe Cobra, printed on them. Then he wasn't numb anymore. No, Billy was angry. _"You little shi-"_

"Well? Not so nice when it happens to you, huh?" Spencer interrupted, looking a mix between angry and smug, glancing around the room challengingly. Billy seethed, clenching his fists and immediately zipping over to Spencer's bag. "You want some karma, Spencturd? I'll give you some pay back alright! _Get ready for some grade A Cobra Karma!"_ He exclaimed, ignoring Spencer angrily swiping for his bag as Billy grabbed the first thing he touched and tore it in half.

"Opps! Did you like that shirt? _Too bad!"_ He sneered, pulling out a sweatshirt next and tearing it in half as well. "You screw head!" Spencer yelled, jumping for his bag one more time before giving up and running over to Billy shelf again. _"Take this!"_ He roared, pushing all the contents of the shelf onto the floor, then grabbing a snow globe and smashing it.

"No! That was my first commemorative snowglobe!" Billy wailed, eyes watering at the sight of the tiny glitter covered Billy in the tiny, broken Christmas scenery. He pursed his lips and dumped all the contents of the bag out. Billy tore every piece of clothing he could get his hands on and Spencer responded in kind with commemorative trophy and merchandise alike. For once, Billy didn't pause to wipe away his tears or wait for someone to come comfort him. He was angry, more angry than he'd ever been in his entire life, and he wouldn't stop for anything until...He didn't know! He just knew he was hurting, and breaking stuff was the only thing making him feel better anymore! "I hate you!" He screamed, pushing Spencer as the kid broke another of one his figurines, and rubbed away tears that were threatening to blur his vision completely.

When he looked up to glare at him, his breath caught at the sight of the kid. He was crying. Not angry crying like Billy, sad crying. He wasn't even trying to get up again, just sitting there all teary eyed and sad…

"Come on." Billy groaned, feeling all the anger just drain out of him at the sight of the kid. Billy took a deep breath and let out the longest sigh ever. "You can't just _do_ that, dude…"He whimpered, without all the rage, Billy was feeling super weepy right now. He wiped away the tears again, and sat down a few feet away from the kid.

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Spencer didn't know why the ghost had stopped. Maybe it was just tired of him, maybe it never cared in the first place. Spencer was too worn out to ask. This was all so stupid. He was acting like a child, honestly, he deserved for his stuff to be wrecked. His blanket had been a literal monster and he'd still thrown a tantrum over it like he was eight years old. And for what? Oh yeah, that little act of retaliation had gone over sooooo well! Now half his clothes were ruined and the rooms carpet was littered with glass and scraps of broken Billy merchandise.

"Why can't I just…" He whispered, rubbing his face and hating himself for crying. Way to go Spencer! Now you really are acting like a baby. He looked at the ground scattered with cloth and glass and glitter. It looked kind of pretty in a weird way. "What are we even doing?" He asked, wondering if the ghost was still in the room. Was it satisfied with all this, or was it feeling just as lost as he was? He pulled his hand away from his face and noticed he was still holding onto a scrap of his blanket.

Out of all the things he could loose, the only thing that really hurt was this. "You know? It wasn't even that good of a blanket. It was too thin, and I got too big for it in like, a year. It's not even.. _even_ -" He broke down. This was all too much, too much action, too much feelings, and he didn't know what to do. He pulled his knees to his chest and bowed his head into his legs.

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Billy looked away from the sad sight before him. He could barely handle his own feelings, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle Spencer's. He looked around the wreckage of his room and took a shaky breath. It wasn't...too bad. He hadn't...Well he couldn't say he was super attached to everything Spencer had smashed. Okay! So he was a little attached to some of the stuff Spencer had broken. But he couldn't say everything had actually been important to him. Some were, but some really weren't.

"I don't even remember what this was for." He breathed out, lightly fingering a little chunk of a plastic figurine. He'd probably just gotten it because it had his face on it. He'd done it enough times that he wouldn't be surprised. "And this…" He picked up a shard of his favorite trophy. It was a good one, definitely a treasured memory, but… "I always wanted another one." He remembered. When he'd gotten it, he'd told everyone that he wanted to get it every decade, 'Until I'm one-hundred!' he'd said. It was only important because he was waiting for the next one. "Guess I only got one…" he realized sadly, looking over to Spencer, whose shoulders were shaking slightly with every sob.

Whenever Billy saw sad faces, he was always able to cheer them up with a song and dance, no exceptions. Now, he couldn't do either. "I'm sorry dude…" He whispered, looking over the huge mess he'd made. All that stuff he'd torn up was probably important, and even if it wasn't, it could have been. Spencer had said that he'd had that blanket for a while. Now it, along with half his other stuff was gone, because of him. As Billy looked over the wreckage of his screw up, his eye caught a familiar blue.

"Aw, hey!" He chuckled, picking up his old guitar pick necklace. Now this was a cool memory! He'd worn this a long time ago, when he was first starting out. "This, was the first product made with my face on it." He recalled fondly. He could still remember when his dad had bought him this, he'd been so excited! He'd drilled a little hole in it with a toothpick and worn it like a medal. He frowned again as he remembered Spencer. Did he have nice memories about that blanket of his, or what about all his other stuff?

Billy looked at the necklace again and got an idea. Maybe he'd destroyed some important stuff, he couldn't take that back, but maybe he could give Spencer some stuff to make new memories! He was still a kid after all, Billy remembered when he'd been his age, and Spencer still had so much living to do! "And I can start, with this!" He smiled as he floated over to the kid and placed the necklace carefully around his neck. Spencer shifted a bit, but otherwise ignored the intrusion.

Billy frowned again, he knew this was only a small start. He wouldn't be able to undo all this mess between them with a necklace that only mattered to him. He grabbed his guitar and started to strum in hopes that even without his voice, he would be able to cheer up the kid, even just a little bit. As he strummed, he couldn't help but sing along, closing his eyes as he let the music wash over him.

Smile though your heart is aching

Smile even though it's breaking

When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by~

If you smile through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You'll see the sun come shining through, for you~

Billy was crying again. If he'd been doing this when he was still visible, his manager would be having a fit! It looked cool in movies, but crying while singing was a messy, not at all pretty thing to do, he probably sounded congested. Darn, this song was a sad one, wasn't it? He'd been trying to be uplifting, way to go Cobra. Thankfully Spencer couldn't hear him, so maybe the guitar playing was coming across more chipper than he was.

Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear, may be ever so near~

That's the time, you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying?

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile~

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying?

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile~

"That's-*Sniff* That's a rap!" He sniffed, rubbing his face in an attempt to collect himself. Ugh, he probably looked so gross. Why couldn't he be one of those people who managed to look pretty after a good cry? He wiped his nose on his sleeve (Because his legacy was in literal shambles, he was invisible, and a mute pop star, so, he was kind of on his last leg here.) and looked up at Spencer to see if he'd helped, or maybe made it worse. Instead of a sniffling child, he came face to face with a very shocked looking kid.

In fact, he looked like he was actually looking at him! Of course, he wasn't. He was probably just looking at the floating guitar and making an educated guess. Still, the kid looked kind of out of it. Was he okay? He reached towards Spencer to poke him when the kid actually pulled back. Like he could actually _see_ his hand. He frowned in confusion, pulling back and cocking his head thoughtfully. Could he _really_ see him?

Billy cleared his throat quietly and decided to brave getting his hopes up one more time. "Can you...Are you _seeing_ me right now?" He whispered. He hadn't meant to whisper, but he was actually pretty nervous. He rubbed his hands together anxiously as he waited for a reply. The kid was staring right at him, but maybe-

"You're Billy Joe Cobra." Spencer rasped, leaning forward and staring in a way that would probably make someone uncomfortable if it weren't for the fact that Billy was _loving_ it! _"You can see me?!"_ He coaxed, leaning forward as well and grabbing Spencer's arms encouragingly. The kid jumped at the contact, but didn't take his eyes off Billy's face, which was amazing! _**"You can see me!"**_ Billy cheered, shooting into the air in celebration.

As he flew around the room, he saw the pile of blanket scraps, and the ripped up clothes and shattered trophies. His smile melted away as he floated back to Spencer's level. "Uh, I...um…" He was speechless now that he could actually get a word in. How ironic! "Uh…Do-do you wanna hear...another song?" Awful! That was it? C'mon Cobra! You can do better! "I-I'm sor-"

"Yeah! I, uh, really liked the one you just did...Can you-can you do that one again?" Spencer interjected, shifting to a criss cross applesauce and smiling. His smile looked a little shaky, but at least it was something.

"Er-Yeah! Just, uh-" Billy looked at the shards of glass and plastic surrounding the kid and frowned. "How about you get comfortabro first?" He suggested, swooping down and picking Spencer up bridal style before he could object, and setting him down on his-on _Spencer's_ bed. "Now for some mood lighting." He sang as he stretched his arm and turned the lights down. He was tempted to go all out, but he was feeling emotionally spent, and Spencer looked it. "Let's bring things down a bit, yeah?" He hummed, floating down as he started to strum a quieter version of the tune.

Spencer looked a mix between apprehensive and tired as he finally got comfortable in his race car bed and watched Billy play. Billy could feel his eyes on him, and while he enjoyed it immensely, it had a different weight to it then the thousands of stares he'd felt before. _'This kid has seen me do a crap ton of cruddy things.'_ he thought. It was a weird feeling, knowing he was kind of just sitting with that. Yet Spencer wasn't yelling at him, or giving him the cold shoulder, he was just watching him play.

 _'It won't fix things, but it's a start, and they do say music is the best medicine.'_ Billy thought as he took a breath _'Might as well give him a show!'_ And he sang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you get, when you combine a spoiled man child, and a literal child going through puberty? Tears, Tantrums, and Misunderstandings! Don't worry, Spencer and Billy can talk now, so I'm sure things will be smooth sailing from now on! The song name in this chapter is called Smile by Nat King Cole! I recently heard a version sung by Micheal Jackson, apparently one of his favorite songs! I like to think of Billy, talent wise, as the Jewish baby of Prince, Micheal Jackson, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars. Speaking of Billy being Jewish (His name is super Jewish, trust me) did you know Baruch translates from Hebrew to Blessed, and Cohen or Kohen, translates to Priest? If you know anyone with the last names Cohen, Coen, Kohen, or Katz/Kats, they're probably Jewish, or of Jewish decent!


	10. Tenth Episode! Mysteries and Histories!

The first thing that graced Billy's awareness was the natural ambiance that came with each morning, leaves rustling, birds singing... Smiling, he lazily stretched and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. As he stretched he felt the familiar weight and feel of his guitar strap, guessing he must have fallen asleep while playing again. "Wait…" He had been playing for a reason last night, right? What was it again?

"Spencer!" Billy sat up mid-air in a jolt, eyes snapping open in a mix of excitement and fear. He'd been fighting with Spencer, then suddenly the kid could see him! He looked to his- Spencer's race car bed and came face to face with a weirdly familiar expression. The kid looked shocked again. Maybe he was in awe of the idol floating before him? Billy couldn't blame him, he was pretty breathtaking. Still, now that he was awake, maybe he should get around to apologizing again? He didn't really know how this kind of thing worked, but now that he was remembering the events of yesterday, he needed to do something about all this bad juju. "Uh-"

"Why did you trash so many hotel rooms?" Spencer interjected, staring at Billy with a disappointed expression. Billy didn't really know what to say to that. He hadn't really been expecting the kid to go this route. No 'How are you floating?' or 'How are you invisible?' or even 'How do you get your hair to do that?'. Billy lowered to a sitting position and thought for a moment. "I-I don't really, know? It was just a part of my bad boy-"

"I heard you closed down a hotel for a week." Spencer pressed, frowning a bit. "And I also heard you totally demolished a set, just because a camera guy didn't like your shoes!" At this point Billy was totally thrown. This had turned into an angry press reporter grilling him at eight in the afternoon when he'd rather be anywhere else. The only thing keeping him from storming out was the fact that someone was finally talking to him for the first time in forever!

"O.k, first off? It only shut down for like, a couple days! And the second one is just _not_ true! That camera guy had went out of his way to insult my new boots! He was being a jerk-wad, not me!" He fumed, pouting and crossing his arms in indignation. He would not allow such slander!

Spencer looked at him for a few more moments before smiling. "You know? I really liked your music when I was a kid." Billy perked up at that, though he could do without the past tense. His new music was just as great as his older stuff! "On my first day of school, you released Gives you Butterflies and I heard it on the radio on the way there. When I got to school, all the kids and teachers were singing it, even the principal. They played it over the speakers during lunch! I was kinda cool, like it was a holiday or something, we didn't even get homework." He finished, looking fondly around the room like he was finally appreciating the legend who gave him that experience.

Billy sniffed, eyes watering at the touching story. He loved stories like that! One of the best compliments he could ever get about his music was stories like this one. He once got told by a fan that they just had a kid and that they'd had the kid to one of his songs! 'We're naming them Billy! After you!' they'd said, Billy had been so over the moon at the story that he'd performed at the kids second birthday party for free.

"Did they make it a holiday?" He asked, he wouldn't be surprised if they had, Gives you Butterflies had been a pretty big hit. Spencer laughed in response, shaking his head as he collected himself. "No, sorry du-Mister Cobra. It was a really good song though." Billy frowned a bit, but shrugged it off. If they made a holiday for every new release, the world would be partying 24/7, and while that sounded rad, even the Cobra needed time to just chill.

"Their loss." he said, then, realizing that there was a lull in the conversation, decided that they'd never to talking about their bad juju unless he took the initiative. "Look dude, I really want to talk about some stuff." He started, biting his thumb as he thought over his next words carefully, he didn't want to mess this up.

"Last night was... _bad_. Like, it was kinda awful." He sighed, curling up a bit as he glanced up at Spencer carefully. Spencer was frowning now, but he didn't look angry, which was good. "I just think we should try to clear the air and stuff, ya'know?" He shrugged, he wasn't so good at being adult and getting serious. He almost wanted to disappear again, but he needed to make things right. He finally had the chance and he wasn't going to waste it because talking was suddenly uncomfortable.

He watched as Spencer sighed and nodded. "Cool! I, uh, just think I should start out by saying-"

"I'm sorry." Spencer blurted, cutting Billy off before he could finish. "I was a big jerk to you yesterday and I'm so-"

"You're _sorry?_ _I'm_ sorry!" Billy argued "You didn't do anything. It was my fault you got kidnapped!" It was his turn to interrupt, and he was darn well going to! This kid had it totally backwards!

"I only got kidnapped because I was so caught up in handling things on my own that I didn't even consider asking for help! My parents or the guards could have gotten me my bag easy as pie if I had just _asked!"_ Spencer sputtered, apparently just as upset with Billy's apology as Billy was with his.

"I still put you in a corner, I knew you weren't supposed to go near the gates! It was _my_ groupies who kidnapped you! I almost left you there!" Billy challenged, waving his arms in frustration at the kids poor excuse. He couldn't actually be blaming himself, he was just a kid!

"You weren't the one who kidnapped me, you aren't your fans! And you could have left me but you didn't! You _saved_ me!" Spencer countered, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Oh yeah! I _saved_ you? I flew you home even when you told me not to, because I couldn't bring myself to take out my literal _kidnapper_ Cobra Heads! I put their safety over yours!" Billy sarcastically replied, standing and staring down this infuriating child. He was glorifying Billy's half assed rescue mission and blaming himself!

"I'm not going to hold "not assaulting people" against you dude! How do you think those guys would have reacted to being attacked by some unknown force? Things could have gone bad, fast. And besides, you saved me twice. From a _literal_ monster!" Spencer stood as well, arms still crossed, and seemingly determined to not give an inch.

"I "saved" you, from a blanket. An old, zombie themed, _children's_ blanket. And the only reason I needed to "save" you, was probably because of some weird side effect of whatever's up with _me_!" He yelled, taking a commanding step forward, forcing Spencer to take a step back.

"Yeah, a children's blanket. A sentient, flesh and rotting skin, monster blanket that tried to smother me! I was caught up with trying to salvage something that wanted to kill me! It tried to jump me when I was trying to protect it. At least you were able to set your priorities straight. I was being an insufferable _baby_ about the whole thing and started breaking your stuff because I lost my _blankie!"_ Spencer yelled back even more forcefully than Billy, stomping forward until he was butting heads.

"You were being childish, because you're a _child!_ Meanwhile, I'm twenty six years old, and you know what I did when you broke my stuff? I threw a tantrum! _Like a child._ And unlike you, I didn't even care about half the stuff you broke!" Billy asserted, leaning back and and gesturing wildly. "You can be upset about your stuff, dude! So what if you cry over your blankie? _It's your blankie!_ It matters, and you should be upset! I was a total tool!"

"What about you? I know some of the things I broke were important. I wanted them to be! I wanted to hurt you! The stuff I broke can't be fixed either! I can sew up my clothes and blanket, but I can't fix a glass trophy!" Spencer argued, gesturing to the shards of glass on the ground around them.

"Well-! I don't-You can't-Ugh! _Just shut up!"_ Billy stuttered angrily. He glared at the glass remains in frustration, wanting nothing more than for the traitorous shards to vanish.

"You can't just- _You_ shut up!" Spencer snapped back.

Billy and Spencer glared at each other, like a serious version of a staring contest. Billy had the advantage of course, and he was just about to snap his fingers to get Spencer to blink when the reality of the situation hit him. _"Pffff-!"_ He slapped a hand over his mouth and tried to control himself, but it was too much!

"What? Why are you…" Spencer deflated, plopping back onto his bed and looking at Billy with a plea for an explanation shining in his eyes. For some reason that did it, and Billy was all out cackling.

"It's just-Hahahah! We're-we're fighting-Haha! Over whose most sorryehehe!" He giggled, curling up into the air and taking shaky breaths to try to calm down. Right when he was finally calming down, Spencer started giggling and then Billy started laughing all over again.

 _"So dumb!"_ Spencer chuckled, rubbing his face in embarrassment. They were caught in a cycle of chuckles for a while, and Billy was afraid they'd be stuck as giggling fools forever. Finally, Spencer's stomach cramped, and they finally calmed down. " _Whew!_ That was intense! Can you suffocate from laughter?" Billy sighed, relaxing in the air for a moment in the laughter after glow.

"I mean, you can't. But maybe? I've never heard of it happening though…" Spencer shrugged, then sat up and frowned. He looked at Billy with that sad puppy face and Billy lowered in response. They still had talking to do.

"Listen Spencer, I was a jerk. Maybe not in all the ways, but I really did go out of my way to mess with you before the kidnapping thing, and that's on me. I'm sorry." Billy admitted, he wasn't going to get into the semantics of who was the most awful, but he knew he was in the wrong and he wanted to fix it. Spencer looked conflicted for a moment before sighing and hunching forward.

"I...can't say I forgive you for all the stuff you did. But I appreciate you wanting make things right, and I want to make things right too. I'm sorry I broke your things Mister Cobra, I really regret doing it." Spencer apologized, and Billy smiled. He was weirdly o.k with Spencer not forgiving him, he didn't really need it to feel better.

"It's all cool, little man. We both did things we regret yesterday." Billy forgave, holding his hands up in a reassuring gesture. "I just hope we can…" Billy stalled, frowning as he realized he didn't know what he wanted. To be friends? Roomies? Bros? Would Spencer even want that? He still wasn't sure how the kid was feeling about him and friendship was a big step from bitter rivals.

"I just-I just don't wanna fight with you anymore. You and your family can stay as long as you want! I won't mess with you guys anymore, promise!" Billy coughed, feeling a little awkward now that all the emotional stuff was out of the way. Being visible was turning out to be not so great. He'd been so much better at the whole confident and cool vibe before he'd turned invisible and stuff! He rubbed his head awkwardly and kicked his legs trying to think of something else to say when Spencer giggled.

"What?" Billy pouted, curling up a bit as Spencer smiled at him. "Nothing really. It's just, I've never had arguments with anyone outside of my family and had them stick around after." He marveled, shifting a bit to get a better look at Billy confused face. "Whenever I fought with kids at school, friends and all, they didn't tend to stay friends after. I never was good at compromise, and I'm not really someone people are willing to stick around with." He shrugged, then grinned at Billy.

"I always thought how cool it would be if I had a werewolf, or a zombie as a friend or something." He hinted, giving Billy a meaningful look and adding "But I guess a ghost as a friend would be pretty cool. Just think of all the pranks!"

Billy was a mix between stunned disbelief and bursting with excitement, a small smile spreading till he was sporting a full grin. "Really?!" He squealed, Spencer rolling his eyes and nodding in response. Billy beamed and started zipping around the room and cheering. "Whoooohoooooo!" He rejoiced and picked Spencer up to wrap him up in a bone crushing hug.

"Whoa! A little tight Mister Cobra!" Spencer grunted, Billy dropping him onto the bed immediately and floated down to give him a scolding look. "If we're gonna be buds Spence, I can't have you going 'Mister Cobra' to me all the time! Just call me Billy!" He suggested, straightening his jacket and giving him his best magazine cover smile.

Spencer looked like he was going to say something but thought better of it and nodded. "O.k Billy. Now that we've cleared the air, I think we should get round to dealing with some obvious questions" Spencer frowned at Billy's blank expression as Billy tapped his chin in thought.

"Like what Michael Brosner?" Billy wondered as he back stroked through the air lazily. Spencer huffed, grabbed Billy's collar and pulled him out of the air to sit next to him. "You can't be serious Billy! You're not even a little concerned about my blanket turning into a horror show?" He grilled, looking at Billy seriously. Billy gulped at the memory of the evil patchwork beast and nodded slowly. It was pretty weird that happened, no question.

"Good!" Spencer approved, then let go of Billy's collar and took a thinking man pose. "No offense, but I really do think it has something to do with you, dude. My blanket never turned into a monster before this, you're the only constant. Can you remember doing anything to it when I was in the shower?" He questioned.

Billy thought back for a moment and when over yesterday's events. He hadn't really done much with that blanket, it'd been so creepy he'd actually avoided it. The only times he'd even touched it was when he nabbed it from Spencer in the morning and…"Oh, dude! I used it as a tissue when you were showering! I remember how freaked out I'd been when I realized I used it!" He recalled, smile wilting at the look on Spencer's face as he took in the new information.

"Yeeaaaah, sorry Elizabeth Broftus. Probably shouldn't have done that…" He apologized nervously, he didn't want Spencer mad at him so soon after their new friendship. "It's fine." Spencer mumbled, still lost in thought and really nailing that thinking man pose. Billy tried to strike the pose as well before Spencer suddenly jumped up on the bed excitedly.

"Ectoplasm! I remember now! It's supposed to be this supernatural goop that ghosts secrete or something. Your tears are probably made of the stuff and messed with my blanket somehow!" Spencer continued to jump on the bed as he spoke, exciting Billy into jumping on the bed as well. "That's great Douglas Scott Brogo! That...is good, right?" Billy kept jumping in hopes that what he was hearing was good. He didn't really know anything about the whole paranormal business, but he trusted Spencer to do the thinking when it came to it.

"I...don't think so." Spencer admitted, falling onto his bed and sitting up. "I mean, it's probably gonna be a problem if your ectoplasm makes stuff turn into halloween decorations on steroids. Can you control it?" He asked, looking a little worried as Billy stopped jumping and sat down. Billy shrugged, "Can you control the stuff your body does?' He countered crossing his arms and frowning. He couldn't help it if he got emotional and cried, he was only human!

"I just thought...No, you're right. You'll just have to be a bit careful when it comes to stuff like that. Sorry man, but it's probably for the best." He assured as Billy pouted. "Has this kind of thing really never happened before?" He asked Billy as the ghost started floating around the bed restlessly.

"Never! I think I'd remember my stuff coming to life and attacking me!" He assured, then added "Well, your blanket was pretty dead looking, so maybe coming to death? I don't know." He groaned, slumping and looking to Spencer for their next move. He didn't know what ectoplasm was, or why it ruined good stuff, but apparently he had too keep an eye out so he didn't end up monsterfying something else.

"Just try to keep the more watery stuff to yourself, at least until we find out what makes the ectoplasm tick." Spencer concluded, Billy nodded, then grimaced a bit. "Dude, ectoplasm is such a mouthful, can we shorten it to ecto? I think it sounds cooler." He suggested, already becoming attached to the improved word.

"Sure." Spencer agreed, then swung his legs over the bed to go get dressed. "Whoa! Stop!" Billy cried out, yanking Spencer back onto the bed urgently. "What's the deal, dude?" Spencer exclaimed, looking around the room in concern. Billy crossed his arms and gestured to the floor in exasperation.

"Spence Angel, are your clothes really worth the glass walk?" He cautioned, pointing the the shrapnel scattered all over the floor. Spencer gulped, frowning at the disaster zone that the floor had become. "Well now what? I'm not staying in bed all day!" He pressed "It's a minefield here!"

"Chillax, Spencestar! I've got you, just hold on a sec." Billy flew over to the bathroom and picked up Spencer's shoes, gagging after getting too close to his smelly socks, and leaving those behind. He handed Spencer his shoes and smiled proudly. "See? Now you get dressed so you-we can clean up!" He suggested as Spencer put on his shoes and carefully walked over the scrap filled floor. "Thanks Billy!" Spencer called over his shoulder as he grabbed a pair of clothes and went into the bathroom to change.

Billy looked around the room and sighed. He almost wanted to just throw everything out that had been trashed and be done with it, but he didn't know what Spencer wanted to keep, and Billy didn't want to mess up again. He floated over to the most glassy area and sifted through the shards until he found what he was looking for. He picked up the gold rectangle and slipped it into his pocket, maybe later he could find a good place for it. The trophy had been too easy to break anyway, and at least he'd been able to find the piece that actually mattered.

"Maybe we can make a new one?" Spencer asked from behind him. Billy spun around quickly and flushed in embarrassment, he hadn't expected Spencer to change so fast. "It's fine…" He tried, though he could tell Spencer wasn't falling for it. He took the tiny plaque out of his pocket and got an idea. "Here. You hold onto this until you can make a better one." He looked around the room and zipped around picking up all the scraps of Spencer's blanket he could find. "While I give this little guy some Cobra magic! Not-not the evil monster kind, I mean fixing it." He added hastily, he wouldn't want that thing back in his house any time soon, or ever.

Spencer slipped the tiny plaque into his pocket and smiled. "I like it! But, are you sure you know how to sew…?" He asked critically, looking a little unsurely at the pile of scraps in Billy's arms. "Hey! This is me you're talking about Oh Spence-of-little-faith. I'll patch this guy up so well you won't even be able to tell the horrifying fate it met!" He boasted, puffing out his chest proudly. Billy set the pile inside a shoebox in his closet and flew back out. "Now lets clean this place up!"

"O.k, where's your broom?" Spencer looked around the room curiously for any cleaning supplies. "Bro, I had people for that kinda stuff! I've never even touched a broom." Billy bragged, then shrank back at Spencers withering glare. Spencer sighed then looked around thoughtfully. "I think I wanna try and find any salvageable stuff in this mess. So you go find a broom and dust pan, while I sort this out. That way we don't throw away something we might wanna keep." He decided.

"Sounds like a plan, Spence Man!" Billy saluted, then phased through the floor, leaving Spencer to his work. Billy tried to think of the last time he'd seen a broom, it felt like almost forever! "If I were a broom, where would I be?" Billy wondered, turning the question over in his head until an idea struck. "I saw Spencer's mom use one before! When I-uh...yeah." Billy decided to focus on the positives, like how he'd just found a broom! Yaaaay Billy!

He flew into the kitchen and found it occupied with Spencer parents, they looked like they were having a serious talk. "-just worried that he's having trouble adjusting. Do you think moving here was a mistake?" Spencer's mom worried to her equally concerned looking husband. Billy frowned at the topic of conversation. He felt kind of responsible for the mess Spencer was in, should he try to explain to the parents? "Spencer would probably want me to talk to him first…" He would just have to ask him later to see what he decided.

The father stood straighter and smiled at his wife. "Jane, I think he's a strong, intelligent boy, just like his mother. It may be hard at first, but I think Spencer can really fit in here! We both know his old school was a dead end, that place was the bare minimum when it comes to schools. Here, he can finally get the chance to really show off those filming skills of his!" The dad enthused, putting a comforting hand on Jane's arm.

"You're right, he's just been acting so different lately. I'll have a talk with him later." Jane agreed, hugging her husband and giving him a quick kiss. Billy stuck out his tongue at the show of affection and watched them wander out of the kitchen curiously. He felt like the name was familiar, where had he heard the name Jane before? "Eh, I'll remember it later." He shrugged as he started searching around the kitchen for the broom and dustpan. When he found the pair next to the fridge, he swung the broom around experimentally and held the dustpan up like a shield. "These are pretty cool! I'm a total Brouge right now!"

Billy squeezed the items until they were see through and phased up to his-Spencer's room. "Hey Despencerl! I got the handles to handle this mess!" He looked around the room and found Spencer organizing a pile of their stuff. "What's all this?" He asked, floating over to look at the varying array of items

"These are the things I found that I think might be sorta salvageable. If you see anything I missed, or you don't want anymore, let me know." Spencer backed away from the pile and let Billy sift through it. It was good stuff to be sure, figurines and merchandise that managed to only get chipped or cracked, some that only got dented. He smiled at seeing that most of Spencer's clothes were in the pile, glad that he hadn't permanently damaged everything he'd gotten his hands on.

"This looks great Brozilla! Seems like it's my turn to take on this what's left!" He cracked his knuckles in anticipation and spun the broom expertly. " Just try not to be too impressed by my cleaning skills." He bragged setting the broom down and smacking the floor with it. "Take that! And that!"

"Dude, are you serious?" Spencer raised his eyebrows and frowned, looking at Billy with an unimpressed an expression. Billy decided to ignore him in favor of hitting the floor harder. "I've! Never! Been! More! Serious! In! My! Life!" He replied with every smack, creasing his brows at the lack of cleaning happening. This was how it was supposed to work, right? "Why! Isn't! It! Working?" He grunted and hit the piles of scraps harder.

"Let me have that!" Spencer sighed in exasperation and snatched the broom out of Billy hands before he hit the floor again. "Now watch. This is how you sweep a floor." Spencer then began sweeping a small pile of the mess to a corner as Billy watched in awe. "It's so simple! Yet so complex…" He admired as Spencer rolled his eyes. He smiled a bit though, and swept the pile into the dustpan and tossed it in the trash.

"Now you try." Spencer handed the broom back to Billy and watched as he grabbed at the broom eagerly and started sweeping. "This is so fun! No wonder you people do it all the time!" Billy was making quick work of the mess on the floor, phasing the broom and himself through any furniture in the way. "If you say so, dude." Spencer replied, happy to humor the optimistic spirit as it heaped a large pile of trash onto the dustpan and dumped it in the trash.

After a few more minuets, Billy finished sweeping up all the mess (and put the couch back) and they started on the keep pile. "I think we can just super glue this one back together." Spencer guessed, holding up a Billy figurine and it's missing head. "Is this o.k?" Billy held up a shirt he'd just sewn, stitched down the front and on the sleeve. Spencer was surprised at how well it was done. "You did that? It looks pretty good." He complimented, taking the shirt back and stretching it experimentally.

"Of course I did! When you wear as many costumes as I do, you have be ready for wardrobe malfunctions! I learned that the hard way." Billy shuddered at the memory. He'd been so excited for the rhinestone encrusted pants he'd gotten for a show, he'd wanted to wait for the show premiere to wear them for the first time. He'd went on stage and tried doing all his usual dance moves, but they'd been so stiff they'd torn right down the middle while he'd been on stage! "Fans were picking rhinestones out of their hair for days! After that, I tested and adjusted all my clothes myself! Or, at least the ones I wore on stage." He was a little embarrassed at the memory, the tabloids had had a field day with that one.

"That's great, dude! And don't worry too much about hiding the stitching, I'm really digging the Frankenstein's Monster look." He approved, gluing the head back onto the Billy figurine. By the afternoon, they'd managed to restore most of the stuff they'd broken and were putting them back in their rightful places. Billy redecorated a bit as well, seeing as he had a roomie now, he had to spice things up a bit, no?

"I never knew zombie figurines were even a thing." Billy admitted as he set them next to his restored Billy action figures. He'd been right about Spencer interests, this kid was a Horror Head, no question. Billy shuddered at the tiny zombies and turned them away from him. "What if they eat my mini-me's while I sleep?" He complained, giving Spencer puppy eyes.

"Dude, they aren't real. As long as you don't get you ecto on them, or any of my other stuff, everything will be fine. They're just like your dolls, perfectly harmless." Spencer assured as he folded and put away the last of his restored clothes. "They aren't dolls Brometheus, they're action figures! Can't you tell the difference?" He pouted and flew over the couch, surveying the now remodeled and restored room. It looked pretty good!

"We should be interior designers or something, this place looks awesome!" Billy jumped off the couch and flew over to Spencer as he finished unpacking his stuff and looked around. "I don't know about the interior designer thing, but you're right. This place looks pretty cool." He smiled at Billy and held out his fist.

Billy gasped in excitment, holding down a squeal and fistbumbed happily. "Couldn't have done it without you Bro." He admitted, and he really meant it.


	11. Eleventh Episode! Mysteries And Histories 2-The Reckoning!

Spencer was feeling really proud of himself! He'd managed to have an argument that resulted in an actual resolution, he'd made a real life (well sorta) friend, and he'd actually had fun cleaning for once in his life! Today was actually looking up. He'd finished cleaning up the disaster zone Billy's room had become and was celebrating when someone just had to come along and break the good things cycle. "Spencer, honey? You haven't come out of your room all day, I hope you don't mind me coming up for a bit, I just want to talk."

"Mom?" Spencer turned away from his fist bump with Billy to see his mom stepping out of the elevator. Crap! He hadn't been prepared for this! He remembered his black eye and turned back around quickly. "Uh, I um, ne-need to go to bathroom! Just wait a sec!" He ran to the bathroom, grabbing Billy's wrist and dragging him along.

"This is bad!" He whispered after closing the door behind him and turning to Billy anxiously. "Yeah it is! Why would I want to watch you go to the bathroom?" Billy puzzled, frowning at Spencer with concern. "Not that, tool kit! My mom's here, and if she sees me with this-" Spencer pointed to his black eye, glaring at Billy in frustration. "-she'll have a cow! She'll ground me for a thousand years and probably never let me leave the mansion again! I told her I was gardening yesterday. Does this face say I was gardening yesterday? Or does it say, I was beaten up by Cobra Heads and kidnapped?"

Billy's face slowly fell as Spencer stage whispered his case to him. By the end of it, his mind was racing to think of some sort of solution. "Calm down peribrorbital hematbroma! I happen to have unfortunately extensive experience with this kind of thing. My parties got a little crazy sometimes, and when you have as many photo-shoots and interviews as I do, sporting a shiner or two becomes a simple fixer upper."

Spencer seemed to relax a bit at that, sitting on the lid of the toilet and slumping down. "So? What did you do?" Billy smiled and phased into the bathroom closet, causing some things to fall over and clatter to the ground as he did. Finally, he emerged from the closet with a handful of cosmetic products. "Never fear! The Cobra, is here." Billy sat midair in front of Spencer and started to squirt some skin colored cream into his hand.

"Wait. You're gonna put makeup on me? How's that gonna help?" Spencer protested to a annoyed looking Billy. "What do you mean, how? This stuff is magic Denser! It can make a black eye like yours, vanish." Billy made the cream in his hand invisible, just to emphasize his point. "I don't know…" Before he could change his mind, he was startled out of his thoughts. "Spencer, what's taking long?" his mom called.

"Uhhh, just- something didn't agree with me!" He called back hurriedly, turning to Billy and nodding. "O.k, I'm in!" Billy smiled and got to work. "The foundation doesn't really match your skin, but this'll have to do for now." He commented as he rubbed in the proper creams and powders. Spencer winced when he pushed on his eye to hard and Billy cringed. "Sorry, Pat Brooney, my personal makeup artist was always better at this then me."

"But it looks good, right?" Spencer worried, pulling away as Billy finished up. "Of course it looks good. I did it!" Billy boasted, pulling Spencer up and showing him the mirror. Spencer looked and was a bit taken aback. Not only was the black eye completely gone, but so was his acne, a small scar he'd had on his chin, and three of his moles (and where his eyes always that big?). "Dude, you went a little overboard, I think my mom might notice I'm missing moles."

Billy snorted and scoffed at Spencer's accusation, a formidable combination. "Dude, I didn't get rid of your good moles, see? I left that one under your eyebrow. It takes a master to differentiate beauty marks from blemishes." He gloated as he started pushing Spencer to the door. "Now get out there and talk to your mom! And remember, try not to touch your face." He added before yanking the door open and shoving him out of the bathroom.

"Spencer! Are you feeling better, Honey?" His mom fretted as she looked him over. Spencer stiffened and waited, this was the moment of truth. After she gave him a few once overs, she smiled and pulled her hands away. "Have you been using that acne cream I gave you? It's really showing, Sweetie!" She walked over to the bed and sat down, patting the spot next to her.

Spencer looked to the bathroom where Billy was leaning against the door and giving him a thumbs up, and Spencer smiled. "What's up mom?" he asked as he sat down beside her. "Well Spencer, I've been thinking about how different things have been recently, and I just wanted to talk about all that with you." She admitted, wrapping an arm around his shoulder in a half hug as she continued.

"Your sister's been acclimating nicely to the new house and your father and I are really excited about moving here, but I can tell you have concerns, and I want you to know that's o.k. So much is changing for our family, and I know you're probably worried about the details on how all this is gonna work. If you have questions Spencer, don't be afraid to ask me and your father. We might not have all the answers, and we might not be able to tell you everything, but you have a right to be included in how things happen." His mother took a breath and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Recently, you've been spending a lot of time alone Spencer, and while I respect your alone time, I want us to be a family. I'd really appreciate it you could spend more time with us, even if we just laze around in the same room. It's a big house you know, and I don't want you getting lost in it."

Spencer was getting a little choked up by now, his mom was always able to pick up when he was off. "I'm sorry, mom. You're right. I guess, when I saw the Cobra Heads and-other, stuff, I just got it in my head that I had to deal with everything alone. I realize now, that was pretty immature." He rubbed his arm in embarrassment as he recalled all of yesterday. "I learned that the hard way…"

"I promise I'll stop spending all day in my room. Now that I've redecorated and learned a bit more about the-quirks of The Cobra Mansion, I think I'm done with exploring." His mom smiled at his words and hugged him, Spencer returning it in kind and burying his face in his mom's shoulder. He was happy he'd been able to talk with his mom, even if it wasn't the whole truth, it was true in a sense.

"Well! I thinks it's about time I make dinner, you come down in an hour, o.k? It's lasagna, your favorite." Spencer smiled as she rubbed his cheek, then wiped away a stray tear in his eye, he winced, and that's when things took a turn.

"Spencer...Is this makeup?" His mother gasped as she wiped at his eye more and unveiled the dark layer of skin underneath. "You-How did you get this? Explain right now, young man!" She commanded as Billy zoomed over, biting his thumb nervously as Spencer backed up. He looked back and forth between his mother's stern face and Billy making a cutting motion at his neck urgently. Lie, or tell the truth?

"Uh! I-I just! Well, you see-" He stuttered as his mother's expression darkened and Billy made even more wild gestures behind her. "Yesterday, I-" His mother leaned forward and Billy covered his face. "A-a Cobra Head threw a shoe at me! I- I went by the gate, and one of the saw me and- I'm-I'm sorry mom…" Spencer's mom drew back with a blank expression, and Billy slapped a hand over his face. Was that a good sign?

"Spencer…" He held his breath and waited for her to tear his excuse apart. "You didn't have to hide this from me!" Or not? "I'll admit, I'm disappointed you went by the gate when you told me you wouldn't, but you should never feel like you need to hide something like this from me. I'm your mother, you need to tell me these things! I'm so sorry something so terrible happened to you Sweetie, did the guards find the person who did it? I want to press charges!" Spencer gulped at the last part, he was pretty sure the guards wouldn't stand by his story, and he didn't think the rich Cobra Head who kidnapped him would go to court without a fight.

"Uh, no, actually. I was checking out the gates and I-I saw a hole! The Cobra Heads were trying to get in, and they saw me, and they ran, and before I could call the guards, one-one of them threw their shoe at me! Hit me right in the face. I didn't really get a good look at'em…" Spencer wasn't sure where he was supposed to stop, was this working?

"Well, I'll still have to have a talk with those guards. How can we expect to stay safe if those protesters are cutting holes in the gate and assaulting us?" She looked serious for a moment, then sighed and rubbed her temples. "Spencer you really should have told me about this sooner. If anything like this ever happens again, you came straight to me or your father, understand?"

Spencer nodded apologetically, unknowingly giving his mom a sad set of puppy dog eyes. Billy was pretty sure he could weaponize those and take over a country no problem. "I want you to know you're not allowed outside for a few days for this Spencer. Next time you break a promise, you're grounded mister, no exceptions!" Jane gave him one more stern look before softening and wrapping him in a hug.

"Now I'm gonna go make dinner, and you think about how your behavior could improve, O.k? Remember, one hour, then your butt better be at the table." Spencer nodded again and hugged her back. Billy smiled at the familial affection, he'd been a little worried for a moment, but it turned out Spencer's mom was a cool gal.

As she stepped towards the elevator she gave her son one last approving look. "And Sweetie? You really need to tell me when you learned to apply contour so well! If it wasn't for the foundation, I'd say you were a professional!" She enthused as she stepped into the elevator. Billy flew next to Spencer as she lowered down and pouted. "This is why I always get a full color pack! It's not my fault your skin isn't as great as mine!" He fussed.

Spencer flopped back onto his bed and groaned. "That was so nerve-racking! I was so sure she'd pick that excuse apart!" Billy flew down onto the bed beside him and poked his cheek lightly. "Well, you could have told her the truth Spenpal. Your mom's pretty chill, kinda scary, but cool!" Billy said, laying on his stomach and kicking his legs. "I mean, she'd be all too ready to take out those Cobra Heads who kidnapped you. Why not tell her?" He rested his chin in his palm and frowned a bit.

"If I tell my mom the truth, I have to tell her about you, dude. You said so yourself, all of this stuff happened because of you! And how do you think my family will handle knowing they're living with a ghost? Especially one that got me in a junk load of trouble the second day I got here?" Spencer sat up and gave Billy a rough poke in the chest.

"They're acting like they're excited about coming here, and I guess they are, but if they find out about you? They'll move all of us back to our old apartment in dead end nowhere, even if we have to lose your entire fortune to do it! I'm actually starting to like it here, I made a supernatural friend, and we're rich! I don't want to go back to barely being able to afford the electric bill and having no friends, even if it means keeping you a secret."

Billy thought Spencer's argument over a bit. There were a few holes in it Billy almost wanted to point out, but honestly, he didn't want Spencer to leave, and if he thought his family would leave because of him, he wouldn't argue until he had evidence to the contrary. "If that's what you think Spence-Monkey, I'll stay incognito! Just try to remember, white lies stain easy, so don't wash 'em with colors, and always iron them out!"

Spencer didn't understand any of that, and made it very plain in his expression. "What does that even mean?" Billy rolled his eyes and shook him a bit. "It means, if your gonna lie, you're gonna have to stand by it at some point! So iron out that story, and don't get things mixed up! You have no idea how many bold faced lies I had to tell reporters when they got too nosy. My secret is to keep the lies close enough to the truth so they're plausible and they're easier to remember."

Spencer nodded till Billy stopped shaking him and laughed a bit. "I'll try to remember that! You know, most adults give out advice about how you're supposed to be honest and how stealing's bad. Aren't you supposed to be a public figure? What will the parents think?" He faux worried. Bill laughed and flew into the air to pose dramatically. "Spencil-case, that 'Don't do school, stay in drugs.' stuff is bottom of the barrel, PR stuff! In real life, stuff isn't that simple. Although, I'll be honest, most drugs you don't get prescribed from a doctor are bad news." Billy didn't want Spencer doing drugs, he'd seen too many awesome people in the business falling apart because of the stuff. It was pretty sad, so he'd always avoided shifty club corners where he knew people would offer. Billy was reckless, but he loved himself too much to risk any permanent damage to his miracle of a body. He owed it to himself and his fans to stay in peak condition.

"I know, I know. It's not like kids are doing crazy drugs like they show in the movies. The one time some kid offered me a smoke and I said no, he just dropped it. If you want to warn about people who can't take 'No' for an answer, just make a commercial about the dangers of high school guys who think they're charming." Spencer smiled remembering the time one guy at his old school had been nagging Amanda for a date for a month straight. It was during lunch that she'd had to pour milk on him to get him to finally leave her alone. Spencer might had felt bad for him if he hadn't started harassing a new girl the very next day.

"Ho yeah! Guy's like that practically live at some of the clubs I went to. They could be real jerks about it too...You know, speaking of? While I really am sorry for the whole tormenting you thing, I'm still kinda confused as to how you got my place." Billy tried to not sound accusing, he was happy they were there now and he liked Spencer, but he was still unsure as to how and why they were in his house.

"Dude, you wrote us into the Will! Right after whoever else you put before us didn't step forward, your Will said that we were supposed to live in your mansion and get your dough. How can you not remember what you wrote in your Will? Isn't that supposed to be important?" Spencer crossed his arms and frowned, he couldn't believe Billy had been haunting him because he'd forgotten he'd wanted him there in the first place.

"I'm sorry Brotilla! I don't even remember writing a Will! Well, wait...Maybe? I should remember this…" Billy crouched down on the bed and thought hard. Why couldn't he remember? Wills were supposed to be super important, right? "Wow, seriously Billy? My mom said you two knew each other!" Billy closed his eyes and tried really hard, but he just kept coming up blank. "I don't know, man! I really can't remember anything about a Will…." he gave Spencer a teary eyed pout and sniffed.

"Whoa, whoa. O.k dude, it's fine! If you had written a Will, who would you have put in there?" Spencer held up his hands placatingly as Billy's watery eyes melted away, replaced with a thoughtful frown. "Well, other than immediate family...Probably a few organizations and companies I liked and...Oh! Probably my cousin, Janey!"

"That's it! My moms name is Jane, dude, and she said she was you god-cousin. See? You did put her in the Will!" Spencer cheered. Billy scoffed and floated back at his reaction. "No way Broham sandwich! Janey is nothing like your mom. First off, Janey had black hair, like your sister, and she loved fighting and breaking stuff, like...Wow, your sister is super similar to Janey." Spencer rolled his eyes. "My mom dyed her hair dill weed. And of course Jessica's like her, she's her daughter!" Billy looked shocked for a moment before shaking his head stubbornly.

"Janey was getting married to some dude named Todd when I saw her last! You're dad looks nothing like him! And she wasn't pregnant! Your mom looks way too old to be Janey!" Billy insisted. Spencer looked a little upset for a moment before shaking his head calmly and put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "My mom got divorced from Todd a while back Billy, Hugh is my step-dad. And it's been like, a decade since they got married. She got older dude, no big."

Billy looked like he was ready to argue, holding his finger up for a moment before dropping it and sighing. "Man, I didn't even recognize her. Things have really changed…" Spencer patted his shoulder and smiled. "Well, at least you're still here to see it all happen! Most people think when you die, it's all over, maybe being a ghost is your chance to reconnect or something?" Billy froze as Spencer spoke, and his expression grew serious.

"Spencer, do you really think I'm dead?" Billy looked at him searchingly, and Spencer felt a chill. Maybe he shouldn't have brought up the death thing? "W-well, legally, you are, and, you're-you're a ghost so.." He rubbed his neck nervously, glancing at Billy quickly and relaxing a bit as his expression softened. "I'm not angry or anything Broseidon, I just...Hear me out, o.k? This might sound...like I'm swimming in a certain Egyptian river." Spencer nodded and gave Billy his undivided attention.

"So, when I woke up, all ghostified and stuff, I-I wasn't...I didn't know what happened to me. Nobody did, and even now, nobody knows what happened to me. The news says I just went missing, and then they decided when they couldn't find me, 'He must be dead!' and I hate that!"

Billy clenched his hands into this bed sheets and frowned. "They didn't bury anything, you know that Spence? They held a funeral and everything, and they buried an empty coffin."

Spencer felt his gut twist at the way Billy's voice cracked. "So...do you know anything? Something weird or unusual happening before you just, woke up? You don't remember being attacked or kidnapped?" Billy curled in on himself and shook his head no.

"I was having a normal day like any other, dude. I remember going home, and then nothing. I don't remember going to bed, or what I did, I just woke up." Billy took a shaky breath and looked at Spencer pleadingly. "I know it sounds stupid, but how am I supposed to believe I died if there's no proof, dude? I know people don't just turn into ghosts, not without the whole death part, but how am I supposed to be satisfied with what I have now?"

Spencer had to admit, Billy had a point. He'd seen some of the uproar caused by Billy disappearance, riots, conspiracy theories, investigation after investigation, and nobody had been able to come up with squat. He wondered what that must have been like, just waking up one day and being gone, and never being found. "You're right, dude. While I can't say I think you're alive, you just up and vanishing is weird. If you want, instead of the d-word, we can say ghostified or something?" Billy smiled a bit at that.

"Nah dude, it's not that, not really. I just-I'd even be fine with being dead! Well, not really, but, if I knew how it happened. It's-I wish, I knew what happened to me, instead of just, nothing." Billy fumbled, rubbing his hands together and pursing his lips. Spencer looked at the sad spirit and felt something in him twist at the thought of Billy going through all this uncertainty alone. It really wasn't fair, nobody deserved to not know how they died.

Spencer pulled Billy into a tight hug, and gave him a soft squeeze. "Billy, I promise, no matter how long it takes, we're gonna find out what happened to you! I might not be an expert investigator or anything, but I'll do anything I can to help you. I'm sorry it took us so long to find you-"

Suddenly Spencer was being pushed away as Billy wiped at his eyes roughly. "Dude! Warn me next time you get all thoughtful and stuff *sniff*, I almost got ecto on you." Spencer smiled, relieved he hadn't overstepped his boundaries, and gave Billy a soft shove.

"It's not my fault you're so emotional. I'd give you a tissue, but I don't want to get attacked by mutant snot-rags in my sleep." Billy laughed and rubbed his face a bit. "I wish I'd found someone like you, when this all started, Spence. Maybe they would have figured out what happened to me by now if I had." Spencer was actually curious about that.

"Why didn't you, dude? You could have shown yourself to anyone, why the invisible act?" Billy looked at Spencer like he'd grown another head. "Brochacho, I couldn't make anyone see me before now. You're like, the first. Do you really think I wanted to be invisible? Being see through was literally one of my worst nightmares before I was ghostified!" Spencer was so confused. If Billy hadn't been able to make himself visible before now, why could he see him?

"What did we do different?" Spencer looked around the room for clues as Billy thought. "Well, a lot actually. I've kinda been reclusing in my crib ever since..you know. It's no fun going out when the world thinks you're dead. Any contact I made was sorta rebuffed, people don't seem to like when I hang around." Spencer was thinking over their time together so far. He hadn't been able to see Billy till he'd broke down and Billy sang for for him. "Have you sang for anyone before?" He asked, frowning when Billy nodded. O.k, so what else?

Spencer fell face first on his bed and huffed. It could be anything, and it would take forever to narrow it down. He felt something hard poke his collarbone and he shifted his hand to pull it out, but it turned out it was latched onto his neck. "What is this?" He asked, examining the Billy shaped plastic piece. Billy smiled and pointed at it excitedly. "That's my guitar pick necklace! My first Cobra themed merchandise, I gave it to you, don't you remember? I thought you could make some new memories with it, seeing I kind of trashed some good ones yesterday…"

"Huh…" He didn't know why, but he pulled the necklace off and looked it over for a second. "Did you ever give people anything of yours before?...Billy?" Spencer looked around to find Billy was gone. "Billy?" He got up and looked behind the couch, but the ghost had was just gone.

"Where...Wait, wait!" Spencer put the necklace back on and sure enough, Billy was right in his face, screaming. "-RIGHT HERE! I DON'T WANNA TO BE ALOOOOOOONE!" Spencer stumbled back and covered his ears.

"Hold up, dude! I can see you! And hear you, jeez." Billy sniffed and hugged him desperately, lifting him a few inches in the air as he did. "I thought I was all alone again! Why did you spook me like that?!" Billy whimpered.

"I didn't mean to!" Spencer comforted apologetically. "Billy, I think wearing this necklace makes it so I can see you! I think it might have to do with it being worn by you before...you know." Billy pulled away, dropping Spencer accidentally. "Opps, sorry broster oven! But are you serious? If people wear my stuff they can see me?"

Spencer picked himself up and nodded slowly. "We should test it out a bit more before I can be sure, but I think so. As long as you wore it before, people can probably see you. It feels ghosty enough to be true, in fact I think I saw something like this in a ghost hunter show." Billy zipped around the room excitedly, grabbing anything that someone could wear. "Then let's start test'in Oingo Broingo!"

Spencer reached into the pile and grabbed an expensive looking wristwatch, noticing the time on the Cobra themed face. "Billy, is this watch on time?" Billy took back the watch and shook his head. "Nah, it hasn't been for a while now." Spencer sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…" Billy frowned. "Why Bromigo, what's up?"

Spencer started sifting through the pile and waved Billy off. "Oh, just noticed it was almost time for me to head downstairs for dinner. Mom would kill me if I was late." Billy cringed, looking down at his watch again and giving Spencer a sympathetic smile. "Then you're probably not going to like this…" Spencer looked away from the pile and narrowed his eyes. "You said it wasn't on time right? What's the problem?" Billy rubbed his neck and looked to the side, floating up and fingering his watch idly. "Oh, it's just...My watch has always been a half hour behind, sooooo-"

"What?!" Spencer sprang up and rushed to the elevator, giving Billy a passing glance. "I'll test with you later! Mom is gonna flip!" Billy waved goodbye as Spencer lowered down, and tossed the watch back in the pile. "Good luck~!" He sang, smiling as the faint sound of a mother's scolding reached his ears from downstairs.


	12. Twelfth Episode! Touring Memory Lane!

Billy and Spencer had spent all of yesterday having Spencer wear practically everything Billy owned. Billy had treated it like a fashion show and Spencer had been exhausted by the end of it. How could one person own so many outfits and accessories? It had been pretty telling in some ways. Only things Billy had never worn hadn't been able to work, and Spencer had been glad there had only been a couple dozen of those, because Billy had broke down and cried every time Spencer had found a dud and subsequently hadn't been able to see him.

It would have been funny if Billy hadn't looked so traumatized after every one. "I-I wasn't freaking out! It's just-I don't want you to not see me again…" After that, Spencer had done both of them a favor and kept the necklace on at all times. They could try on everything else some other time.

Today, Spencer just wanted to relax inside his new home and eat breakfast, having slept pretty heavily last night after all the excitement. "What's your mom making for breakfast today, Spence toast?" Billy floated beside him as he made his way to breakfast, looking way too excited for his own good. "Probably nothing? Yesterday was kind of a celebratory thing, dude. We'll probably just have cereal." Billy slumped and pouted at Spencer, who rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"Do you even need to eat? Where does it even go? On second thought, don't tell me." Billy scowled and zipped into the kitchen as Spencer got out the cereal. "Of course I need to eat! Do you need to listen to music? Or-or watch T.V?" Spencer laughed and poured a second bowl of cereal. "Chill out dude, I get it! Here, it's chocolate." Billy floated down and inspected the cereal, them smiled and poured the entire thing into his mouth.

"Jeez Billy, is breathing on that need to do list?" Billy swallowed and frowned at the question as he set down the now empty bowl on the counter. "Eh, sometimes? I only stop when I forget to. It's like realizing your tongue is there, when you remember, it's all you can think about." Spencer grimaced at the tongue reminder, but thought it was pretty interesting that Billy's ghost form could still do human stuff it he wanted it to.

"So how long can you hold your breath if you're thinking about it?" He took a bite of his cereal and watched as Billy tapped his chin. "Well, only one way to find out!" Billy took an exaggerated breath and froze with the most ridiculous expression on his face. Spencer snorted and took another bite of his cereal when his sister walked into the kitchen. "Why are you eating in here? You know there's a table where people usually do that?" Spencer shrugged and kept munching, his sister rolling her eyes at him, then glared at the extra used bowl next to him. "Whatever. And stop using a new bowl for every serving, I'm not doing dishes because you're weird" She growled and pulled out an orange from the fridge and headed to the dining room.

Spencer looked back up at Billy who was looking a little bluer than usual. "Dude, you can stop now." Billy shook his head stubbornly, fisting his hands and really going all in. "Alright, but…" Spencer thought about what might make Billy knock off the suffocating act. Billy liked food, but he'd already eaten, he liked himself, but winning this little challenge seemed to be for himself so he wouldn't be moved. He liked his stuff…"I kind of wanted you to give me a tour around the mansion. I mean, who better to give me a tour of The Cobra Mansion than The Cobra himself?"

Spencer was a little nervous that Billy would catch onto what he was doing, he didn't want him to think he was manipulating him. Suddenly Billy gasped and flew right up to Spencer face, startling Spencer into spilling some of his cereal. "Spentaur, that's a great idea! If you wanna really appreciate the Cobra's lair, you need nothing less than yours truly to guide you. Let's go!" Spencer had just enough time to set his bowl down before Billy swept him up and flew them into the entrance area.

Billy set him on his feet as he tried to regain his bearings, having to lean against the wall for a moment. "Warn me next time, dude! Or at least slow down a bit, I'm pretty sure you broke the speed limit." Billy patted his shoulder comfortingly and then pulled him back into the middle of the entryway. "This, is the entryway, into the Cobra way. Are you ready?" Spencer smiled and nodded, already having explored most of the mansion anyway, he wasn't expecting much.

"This, is where I built my roller coaster!" Billy waved a hand around the area and swooped and looped around where the roller coaster was. "It was super bromazing, but it got in the way of my partying so, had to trash it." Spencer looked around and smiled. "How did the zoning police allow an indoor roller coaster in here? No offense dude, but your house's whole look is pretty out there."

Billy puffed his chest and pulled at his collar confidently, smiling at Spencer with a 'Oh ye of little faith.' vibe. "Broton, when you're as uber famous and amazing as I am, you can get away with a lot of awesome stuff. The zoning police were bros, they knew any rad stuff I had built was open to their usage anytime! In fact, they were regulars on my waterslide."

Spencer's eyes widened, o.k, so that was kind of impressive, if not a little concerning. He knew rich people got away with everything! "Hey, speaking of which, what's your deal?" Billy flew down and gave Spencer a searching look. "I wasn't trying to be rude! I think an indoor collar coaster is cool, I just thought it was pretty risky."

"No, not the roller coaster! The waterslide, why don't you like it?" Billy pouted and continued staring Spencer down. "I like the water slide Billy, I never said I didn't." He held up his hands in surrender as Billy scowled. "Not true! You said my water-slide was cliché! You said you were unimpressed!" Spencer thought back and remembered saying something like that. Hadn't Billy pushed him down the water slide for that?

"Billy, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, when I was looking around your house and saw all the ridiculously cool stuff you had, I got a little jealous. I mean, this place is kind of like, every kid's fantasy." Spencer felt kind of bad knowing Billy had taken everything he'd said so seriously. Billy grinned and gave Spencer a big hug, ruffling his hair and chuckling. "Dude, being a jealous Josephine isn't a good look! I kind of get it though, my place is pretty great." Spencer refrained from rolling his eyes at Billy's sudden perky attitude.

Billy put a light hand on his back and slowly lead him down the hall. "You know I designed this entire place myself? Makes sense that it looks like a fantasy come to life, I was only nineteen when I designed the mansion. It was a big project too, I wanted to make sure it had everything I could ever want, and then some!" Spencer looked around as Billy pointed to room after room. "-and this was my yoga room, at least before your sister took it. Oh! This is one of my favorites!"

Billy pushed Spencer through the doors of one of the weirder rooms. "I never understood what this room was for…" Spencer admitted, looking back at Billy as he gave Spencer a scolding glare. "Isn't it obvious?! This is the Freaky Tiki Room! It's in the name." Spencer was about to say that that explained nothing, but Billy continued his monologue. "This room is not only the home to the third largest indoor waterfall in Beverly Heights, but also many fond memories of parties past."

Spencer decided to let the purpose of the Freaky Tiki room remain a mystery and reached a hand into the waterfall. "Why the third? I thought the zoning police were "Bros"?" Spencer leaned against the wall as Billy got a big smile on his face. "Oh, that's a story alright!" Billy flew over to the waterfall and inspected it fondly before continuing.

"So, when I first built this place, I wasn't exactly welcomed to the neighborhood, if you know what I mean. Just a bunch of old money, sticks in the mud who thought my designs were 'A shame on all the other wealthy people.' or something."

Billy smiled at the memory of all the crazy loud house parties he threw and the wild stunts he did with his tour bus that drove his crotchety neighbors absolutely crazy! They'd spent many days and nights plotting on how get rid of him, and he'd always fired back. "So I was just going about my business, not bothering anyone, when one of the neighbors comes in with some zoning police in his pocket and tries to ruin my indoor waterfall. I, of course, was way more popular with the ZP then him, so I got rid of them easily enough, but, he decided he was gonna try and beat me at my own game."

Billy lowered next to Spencer and leaned against the wall. "So Rusty-He always told me to call him, 'Mr. Steele' but when I found out his name was Rusty I couldn't resist-Invites me over to his place to hang, and this dude pretty much hates me, so I'm on guard. I walk in, and I see, in all it's excessive glory, an indoor waterfall! And it's bigger than mine!" He points to the smaller of the three indoor water-falls.

"I only had that one at first, but then Rusty decides he's gonna try and outdo me! The whole time I was there, he was showing it off every chance he got. So I go home, and I decide to call in my pals at the ZP." Billy grins and points to the second largest waterfall. "And I make that guy. When I invited him over to see it, he almost popped a blood vessel! He literally turned red!" Spencer laughed at the image of some rich old guy losing it over some petty squabble, Billy smiling at the image as well.

"I honestly thought he'd give up, but the next day, he invites me over again, and guess what I find? Another indoor waterfall! Even bigger than the one I just got! He's all proud of himself, showing it off and everything, and I decide to end it right there. I go up to this guy, and I say " Listen Rusty nails, I'm gonna tell you how this is gonna go. I'm gonna go home and build an even bigger indoor waterfall, and then, I'm gonna wait. And if I even hear rumor a of you trying to outdo it? I'm gonna call my friends at the ZP and tell them that a neighbor of mine is violating some serious safety code violations. Get me?" And this dude loses it! He accuses me of everything you can think of and then some, so I hightail it out of there, and do exactly what I said I'd do, and I wait."

Spencer waited a moment as Billy paused, then frowned when he seemed to have stopped. "Then what? You can't just stop there!" Billy blinked a few times and smiled at Spencer's reaction.

"Sorry, it's just been a while since I got to talk so much. O.k, so, I go home, yadda yadda yadda...Oh! So then a week later, Rusty has a neighborhood party, I think it was a potluck? I'm automatically invited since I'm part of the neighborhood, and while I don't usually go to those snooze fests, this was my chance to see if he'd tried to outdo me again, so I went."

Spence was tired of leaning, so he slid down the wall onto the floor and Billy followed. After Spencer got in a comfortable position, he nodded at Billy, and he continued. "When I get there, I look, and low and behold, there's no new waterfall. It so was awesome, I stayed for the rest of the party and brang it up to everyone there as many times as I could. I'll admit right now, it was super petty." Billy didn't look ashamed, and Spencer couldn't blame him. Sometimes neighbors were jerks, living in an apartment taught him that the hard way.

"So it's the end of the party, and everyone's heading out. I decide I'm gonna leave too, maybe hang at a party that's actually fun, when Rusty suddenly starts handing out leftovers. He was just handing the stuff out randomly, and he was super insistent that I take this butterscotch custard cream pie. Then, when he finally gets around to giving it to me, he trips! Almost hit me too, but I have fantastic reflexes, so I dodged it pretty easily." Billy recreated the moment by spinning around and dodging an invisible pie, Spencer clapping at the mock performance, and rolling his eyes as Billy bowed.

Billy sat back down next to Spencer and continued. "Warren didn't though, so he got a face full of the stuff, not the worst thing to get shoved in your face really. Warren was a pal, he was the head of the ZP, Officer Warren Peace! He was so mad, he took one look at Rusty's waterfall and wrote up Rusty so hard he wasn't allowed to remodel his mansion for five years!"

"Wasn't that a little harsh?' Spencer interjected. "And what does that have to do with you having the third largest indoor waterfall?"

Billy waved his hand dismissively. "Nah dude, it's not like that guy was hurtin to redecorate or anything, I'm pretty sure everything in his mansion was exactly the same as when it was first built one hundred years ago or something. He was a bag of stale chips, and that was when I was still around, if he's still kickin, he's probably even worse." Billy flew up and sat on top of the largest if his waterfalls.

"The reason I'm in third place Spender fender, is because someone went and built the largest, and second largest indoor waterfall, one month after I was ghostified. Someone who hadn't dared to build them even when his remodeling suspension was served. Someone named...Rusty Steele!" Spencer stood up and crossed his arms. "Did he really? That's such a lamesauce move! Way to kick you when you're down."

Billy dived down into the small pool below and resurfaced with a smile. "At first I thought so too, but then I realized that the first, second, and third largest indoor waterfalls all exist because of me! Technically, I'm still number one!" Spencer smiled and pulled Billy out of the pool, impressed as Billy phased the water off himself and emerged perfectly dry.

Spencer laughed. "Well, I can't argue with that logic." He looked over the indoor waterfalls with a renewed appreciation, idly wondering about the first and second indoor waterfalls and their crotchety owner. He frowned a little, still a bit perturbed with the idea that someone would stoop so low to win some petty feud.

"Spencer? Come to the living room honey. Mr. Johnson is here and he wants to talk to you about yesterday's, uh, incident!" Spencer and Billy looked at each other worriedly and Spencer called back. "Sure thing! Be right there!"

Billy flew behind him and started massaging his shoulders earnestly. "Just remember what I told you yesterday, Bro Frazier! Keep your punches straight, and don't let your opponent see you stutter! You can do this, Spencstar! The Cobra's got your back!" Spencer nodded as he headed to the living room, trying to even out his breathing and ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

Mr. Johnson was sitting on the long pink couch in front of the rad looking pinball machine Spencer had been wanting to get around to. Too bad Billy hadn't been able to give him the Cobra tour of this room, it probably would have been fun.

"Hello Spencer, I heard you saw some concerning things on your first days here. I was hoping we could speak about that, can you give us some time Mrs. Wright?" Jane looked a little concerned at the request, but nodded and left the room, giving Spencer a don't-you-dare-misbehave glare, and closing the door behind her.

Spencer sat at the far end of the couch and spared a quick glance at Billy who was staring at Mr. Johnson very intently. "I think I know this dude...What's his first name?" Spencer was about to ask when Mr. Johnson scooted a little closer to Spencer and leveled him with a serious look. "Spencer, your mother told me about the assault and attempted break in you experienced yesterday, and as the executor of Mister Cobra's Will, it's my responsibility to make sure your family settle safely and comfortably in your new home. To do my job, you need to tell me the truth about what happened yesterday."

Spencer wanted to respond, but his mouth suddenly felt too dry, and words just weren't coming to him. He swallowed and waited for Mr. Johnson to continue, afraid of what might slip if he spoke. Mr. Johnson paused for a moment, as if waiting for a response , before continuing.

"I spoke extensively with the guards circling the perimeter yesterday. Would you like to know what they told me?" Spencer glanced at Billy who looked even more nervous then he felt, then nodded at Mr. Johnson slowly.

Mr. Johnson leaned forward, face looking more serious than a statue. "They told me they hadn't seen you exit the mansion or garden within the gates at all yesterday. Only a handful saw you during the end of the day, apparently you were holding a luggage bag and a trophy, and then you told them there was a hole in the fence. When asked to search, they were unable to locate the shoe you claim was thrown at you. Why do you think that is?"

At this point Spencer was sweating, and he didn't even want to think about how badly he had to go to the bathroom. He had no back up plan for what to do if your lie was totally decimated! Was he just supposed to keep lying? "I don't know…? Maybe they came back for the shoe?" Mr. Johnson somehow managed to look even more serious, and Spencer was pretty sure he could see into his soul. He looked to Billy again for support, but he was back to staring at Mr. Johnson like was was one of those stereo-grams.

"You want to know what I think?" Spencer had to hold back from shaking his head, because, no, he really, really didn't. "I think you're lying Spencer, and while I don't know why, I can tell you right now, your reason will never be good enough. Billy Joe Cobra's disappearance was a very upsetting event in the lives of many of his fans, and I'm sad to say your family's moving into the Cobra Mansion seems to have aggravated old wounds."

Mr. Johnson sat up straight, never breaking eye contact as he continued. "Whatever happened to you, whatever made a hole in that gate, is a very real threat to not only you, but the rest of your family. No matter their reasoning or motives, those willing to harass or harm your family need to be punished. So you can either tell me here, or I can call the rest of your family in here and tell them what I know. They might help you remember correctly."

Spencer looked to Billy with his best this-is-your-cue look, but Billy was still weirdly focused on Mr. Johnson's face. So much for having his back! What was he supposed to do? Tell this guy a ghost rescued him and flew him over miles of desert? He'd never believe that! He needed Billy to do something, but he couldn't really talk to him in front of other people, not without looking crazy. What was it Billy had asked about, Mr. Johnson first name?

"Uh, b-before I tell you..can you tell me your first name?" Spencer winced when his voice cracked but pushed past it. Mr. Johnson's serious expression wavered for a moment, and he slowly nodded. "Of course. My name is Adam, Adam Johnson. Listen Spencer, you can trust me when I say-"

"Holy Broloney! It's Adam! The A-Man! AJ the Party Machine!" Billy was pointing and prodding at Spencer excitedly, as Spencer watched in confusion. "Duder! You need to let him see me! I promise he'll be chill, he's a Bro!" Spencer frowned and glared at Billy. He wasn't just going to let this guy see him because Billy thought this guy was a "bro". This guy looked like he'd never even seen a party, much less been a "Party Machine".

leaned forward and leveled Spencer with that searching stare again. "Spencer, I need you talk to me, or do you need your parents to help you?" Spencer froze and looked at Billy as he gave Spencer a watery set of puppy dog eyes complete with a quivering lip. He looked down at his pocket, remembering he had slipped the Billy watch into his pocket to see if his dad could fix it later. But should he…?

"Spencer." Mr. Johnson looked like he was ready to get up and follow through with his threat, and Billy was making his eyes look almost impossibly large, probably seconds away from actually crying. "Ugh! Fine, you win! Just, stop." Mr. Johnson and Billy smiled at the same time, and Spencer almost could believe they were bros. "Mr. Johnson, please put this watch on, it's important to the story, I promise." Spencer pulled the watch out and handed it to the confused looking man. He looked over the watch for a moment, then slipped it on and adjusted it.

"Alright Spencer, now please…" His words faded off as his eyes landed on a now very visible Billy Joe Cobra, who was posing proudly next to Spencer and smiling so wide it looked like his face might split in half.

"...B-Scales?" Billy's grin grew impossibly wider. "The one and only, Adam's-Apple!" Adam stood abruptly and pulled Billy into a tight hug which Billy eagerly reciprocated. Both of them started laughing, and Adam spun them both around excitedly. It was pretty weird to watch, it was like Billy had flipped a switch and suddenly he wasn't looking at the same person.

"This is real? You're really…" Spencer decided this was probably a good time to explain. "Yup, Billy's a ghost . He's actually sort of the reason I couldn't tell anyone what happened yesterday, he was pretty involved." Adam sat down, not letting go of Billy, leaving the phantom pop star to sit in his lap. "Alright Spencer, tell me everything."

After a lengthy conversation and retelling of yesterday's events, Adam sending Billy disapproving glares when Spencer recalled some unflattering details and Billy pouting or grimacing at them, and Spencer taking a much needed bathroom break, things were finally coming together.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell your parents about what happened Spencer?" Adam and Billy had at this point, idly begun a game of patty cake, and Spencer was having a hard time taking the once very serious man, seriously.

"If my family finds out about Billy, they will want to leave. They might try to get a ghost buster or something first, but they won't be o.k with it. I love this kind of stuff and I wasn't o.k with it at first. I don't want to loose all the money we inherited because my family won't stay here. I'm sorry, Billy."

Billy slapped away Adam's hand (apparently not patty cake?)and smiled reassuringly at Spencer. "Duder, it's fine! It's your choice, and I respect your decision. I think A-Man's just worried you might be biting off a bit more than you can chew." Adam nodded, slapping Billy's hand and turning towards Spencer.

"I'll be honest Spencer. If your family refuses to remain residents of the Cobra Mansion, they'll no longer have access to Billy's fortune. He specifically wrote in his Will he wanted the recipients of his fortune to live in his home. Now, if you were eighteen, you would be able to circumvent the rules a bit if you remained here while the rest of your family left, but you're still a minor, and if your parents want to leave, you would have to leave as well." Spencer nodded and Billy's jaw dropped as he looked at Adam like he'd laid an egg.

"Dude, you've gotten so adult since I last saw you! I didn't understand half of what you just said, and apparently I wrote the thing!" Adam threw Billy a confused frown. "What do mean 'apparently'?" Billy and Spencer shared a look and Billy shrugged. "I don't remember writing the Will. I mean, I can guess why I wrote what I did, but I don't remember doing it."

Adam got that serious look again but Billy didn't seem to notice. "Addendum, what have you been doing all these years? For some reason I don't remember you being around for the last few years before I was ghostified, I remember missing you though."

Adam looked at Spencer with concern, then looked back at Billy and smiled. "I got another job as a bodyguard and personal entourage of Allen Satine, the guy from Indigo 6?" Billy laughed and floated down a bit. "That guy's a Party Panther! You still working with him?"

"Not at the moment, though I still do the occasional on and off job for him. Being your executor was a bit of a full time job. It took me half a year just to find Spencer here." He then gave Spencer a lighter, but still concerningly serious stare.

"Spencer, when I heard you were assaulted while under guard, I was going to suggest to your mother your family hire a bodyguard. It's not that uncommon around these parts. But now, seeing your situation-"Adam put a strong hand on Spencer's shoulder and smiled. "-I'm thinking you could use a more personal touch."

Spencer's mind lagged a bit as he processed what Adam was hinting at. "Are you saying you want to be my bodyguard?" Billy cheered and squeezed Spencer in a tight hug. "Please please please, can we? AJ is the best." Adam grabbed Billy and sat him down, holding up a hand when Billy tried to speak.

"This isn't so much an offer as a precaution. Spencer, in a month and a half, the guard around your home will be removed, and your family will have to fend for themselves. I was the one who asked for them in the first place, I'd hoped that when the first wave of Cobra Heads came, the guard would take care of them, then, when they realized they couldn't do anything, the Cobra Enthusiasts would give up and the guard would no longer be needed. But you're kidnapping has just shown me how wrong I was." Adam sat up and pulled his hand away from Spencer's shoulder.

"When the guard leave, you and your family may still be in very real danger, and I want to help. As someone aware of Billy's existence, I'll be able to provide more reliable protection, and I'll be able to help you, should your secret land you in hot water. "

Spencer nodded, it was a sound argument, and Spencer liked the idea of having an adult who knew about Billy. "Being Billy's friend, you're going to find it's hard to avoid dangerous situations, and I don't want you to deal with that alone." Adam decidedly ignored Billy as he pouted and crossed his arms.

"I'm not that bad! Name one time I got you in trouble!" Billy challenged, Adam rolled his eyes and held up a hand. "You got me arrested for arson, you pushed me into a literal snake pit at the zoo, you convinced me to help you steal a panda, you tricked me into playing the wrong song during a live concert, you-"

Spencer had started laughing at Billy's expression until Billy clamped both hands onto Adam's mouth. "O.k, o.k! So I might be a little reckless sometimes." Adam pried Billy's hands off his mouth and crossed his arms, unimpressed. "That all happened in the same week!"

At that point Spencer collapsed onto the couch, a giggling mess. Adam laughed at the display, and while Billy tried to look hurt, he couldn't fight down his smile at the sight of them both. "Fine, you win this one. All that aside, I thinks it's a great idea for you to Brotect Spence and his fam!" Spencer collected himself and nodded in agreement with Billy's sentiment.

"While I appreciate both your blessings, I'll need to iron this out with your parents Spencer. I'm sure your mother will be open to the idea, she trusts me, and your recent assault will be just the push we need, no offense."

"None taken." Spencer looked between Adam and Billy and smiled. He was happy Billy was able to reconnect with a good friend, and he was even happier he now had an adult he could go to for help.

"So, do you want to talk to her now? I can ask her to come back." Adam looked at Billy meaningfully and shook his head, "No, for now, go tell your mom I'll be looking into your assault, I'll make sure to get your story straight when I talk to her myself, just reassure her. Maybe bring up my employment, but leave the actual dealings to me. Me and Billy have some catching up to do. I'll call her in when I'm ready."

Spencer nodded and left to go find his mom, happy that this hadn't ended with him getting in trouble. Billy floated lazily onto the couch and scooted over to Adam excitedly. "Dude! You being a bodyguard is so cool! You always were a punch first, ask questions later guy, I really shouldn't be surprised."

Adam gave Billy another concerned look and nodded slowly. "You're right, you shouldn't be." Billy frowned at Adams confusing response.

"Hey, what's up?" Adam continued to look over Billy with a concerned look on his face before leaning back. "Billy you said you didn't remember writing your Will, is that true?" Billy's frown deepened and he nodded. "Yeah, I tried to really think back, but I just couldn't come up with anything."

"What about why I wasn't around for four years?" Billy leaned back a bit and slumped. "Four years? No, I don't remember why…"

Adam leaned forward and leveled Billy with the same interrogation glare he'd given Spencer. "And you can't remember what happened to you the day of your disappearance?"

Billy scowled a bit before sighing. "No. I tried, every, single, day. It was a normal day for me, then I got home, and I can't remember what happened, I just woke up-" He spread his arms out tiredly. "-like this."

Adam didn't move for a few moments, then sighed and pulled Billy into hug. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure. You've forgotten a lot of important stuff BJC." Billy hugged back, then pulled away when he realized he was getting teary eyed and wiped his eyes. "Like what? Why were you gone?" Adam rubbed his cheek and looked away. "Billy, I left because we got in a fight, and then you cut me off."

Billy gasped in horror, grabbing Adam's shoulders and shaking him. "Are you serious? Why would I do that?!" Adam let himself he shaken for a moment before putting a stop to Billy's attempt to turn him into a human bobble head.

"Things were tense, and when we finally fought, it was bad. I'd hoped we'd be able to patch it up, but you never answered my calls or anything. I never got to talk to you again." Billy didn't try to stop the tears from pouring from his eyes this time, openly sobbing at the story. He'd never seen his best friend again? "I-I'm such an As-"

"Billy! It's in the past, and sure, it really sucked, but I did get to see you again. And you said you remember missing me, that was true right?" Billy sniffled and nodded, and Adam smiled.

"I was there you know? When you wrote your Will. That's why I'm the executor, you said I was the only one you trusted to actually do all the crazy stuff you put in there. I didn't tell Spencer this, but you put in there you wanted to be in a speedo when you died, open coffin, no matter how old you were." Billy snorted and rubbed away his ecto tears, that sounded like something he'd do. "Too bad they haven't found me yet, that would be awesome! I look great in a speebro!"

Adam shifted and got that serious look again. "Billy, I've actually wanted to say something about that. I know everyone who's tried so far has failed, but I've gotten a lot of experience in law and finding people these last four and a half years, and I want to find you. Even if you don't know what happened either, you're still an invaluable resource in finding out what happened to you."

Billy looked shocked at Adams admission before laughing and giving him a quick hug. "You and Spencer must be brothers or something, he told me almost the exact same thing."

Adam's eyes widened and he frowned. "Is that safe? Whatever killed you is still out there Billy, if we start digging, they might retaliate, and I don't think you want Spencer in the middle of that." Billy frowned and turned the new information over in his head. Adam was kinda rightish, Spencer was still a kid, and murder and or kidnapping investigations were kind of an adult thing. "You're right, but I don't think Spentagon's gonna just drop it either."

"He's a good kid, he probably just wanted to help you, but Billy, you need to make sure he stays safe." Adam grabbed Billy's arm and squeezed. "You're my best friend Billy, even after all these years, I can still say that. Now that the Wright family live here, I'm sure you're going to treat Spencer to all the same stuff you treated me to, but please remember. We didn't end well. Don't make the same mistakes."

Billy frowned and tried to push down the knotted feeling in his gut. He'd been so happy when Spencer had told him they could be friends, he didn't want that to end the way he and Adam had.

Adam let go of his arm and smiled. "I'll make sure to be there for both you, so don't worry too much. Spencer seems to already trust you and like you much more than he did me, and I didn't get him kidnapped."Billy grimaced, he'd never live that one down, would he?

"Just remember, one day Spencer will have a problem he can't deal with alone, and he won't come to his parents, or his sister, or even me, he'll come to you. When that happens, not if, when, you need to be the adult he needs, not the Billy that got me arrested for public nudity."

Billy smiled a bit at the memory of that arrest, the jail cells were cold when you had no clothes on."You sure became an adult, huh?"

Adam groaned and slumped into the couch. "You have no idea. Turns out when you suddenly have no superstar best friend to bribe you out of trouble, you have to deal with things like consequences, and jobs."

Billy slumped next to him and giggled. "Whenever you talk, you sound like my lawyer." Adam gave Billy an offended look and sniffed in mock indignation. "It's not my fault people don't take you seriously when you speak the brocabulary! No one would hire me because they thought I sounded like I was still in high school." Billy outright laughed at the thought of Adam trying to work the brocabulary during job interviews.

Adam huffed and smiled, not bothering to straighten out his now crumpled suit. "It's good to see you again, Billy. I really missed you." Billy smiled, giving Adam's arm a small shove and closing his eyes. "Of course you missed me, what's not to miss?"

Spencer found his mom in the Freaky Tiki room, rearranging some furniture and marveling at the indoor waterfall of spite. "So, how did it go, Monkey?" Spencer smiled and went over to sit on a chair stuffed full of plush pillows. "It went fine, he wanted me to tell you he'll be looking into the guys who attacked me, and that we should probably look into getting a personal bodyguard." Jane nodded in understanding and sat next to Spencer. "That makes sense, after everything I've seen, we'll probably be needing one, Thankfully, we aren't low on cash, so paying someone won't be too hard."

Spencer held back from suggesting Adam, he'd told him to leave the rest to him so Spencer would have to settle for planting the seed of a thought. "So…" His mind was still wandering to all the things Billy and Adam seemed to have been through together, Adam was like a whole different person when he'd seen Billy. If hanging out with Billy did that to a guy like him, what had his mom been like? "Hey mom? What was Billy like?"

Jane smiled and wrapped an arm around Spencer in a half hug as she got comfortable next to him in the chair. "He was exactly what you'd expect him to be like, and also not. You see Spencer, my father was good friends with Billy's father, and when my father had me, he named Billy's father as my Godfather. His name was Aaron Cohen, and I called him Uncle Aaron." Spencer pulled a few pillows off the now crowded chair and scooted closer to his mom as she pulled him closer.

"When Aaron separated from Billy's mother, he let me and Billy play together so Billy wouldn't feel lonely. You know how separations are, and Aaron wanted Billy to feel like he still had a family. I remember when I first met Billy, he was only seven years old, he was so cute! I was twelve, and I hadn't wanted to play with him when I first met him. I thought I was too old to play with babies." Spencer smiled at the image of his mom acting like a put out teen and Billy being so small.

"So when our fathers left to talk amongst themselves, I told him as much. He threw a tantrum and cried, but I ignored him. So Billy finally calmed down and got real quiet. I thought he was trying to give me the silent treatment, but then he gets up and grabs the T.V remote, and starts flipping through the channels. I thought I had won, no little kid to bother me, then I hear singing. I turn around, and there's Billy, singing and dancing along with himself on the T.V. I don't want to sound shallow, but that's exactly what I was, so after that I had no problems with playing with him."

Jane's eyes were locked onto some invisible thing in the distance as she spoke. "We got along perfectly after that. Billy would show me how to dance and sing, and I would show him how to use makeup and style his hair." Jane giggled and squeezed Spencer.

"I remember, one time we were playing dress up, and I had the bright idea to cut his hair! Apparently Billy had a show the next day, and my haircut was so unsalvageable they had to put a wig on him!" Jane and Spencer both fell into hysterics at the image of a younger Billy with a terrible haircut under a last minute wig.

"The press thought Billy had a case of severe premature balding. After that, whenever Billy came over, I wasn't allowed near the scissors. He was sweet about it though, he told me 'The world just wasn't ready.' for my vision. He still let me play with his hair and do his makeup no matter how badly it went. I remember telling him I wished my hair was like his, because it was so straight and dark, and he told me 'If you want to change your hair, just become a hair stylist!'. After he told me that, it kind of became my dream to become a stylist for the stars, even if it was impossible, Billy made me feel like it wasn't just a dream."

"It isn't though!" Spencer cut in, startling Jane out of her story. Spencer felt a bit embarrassed about interrupting, but pressed on. "We're rich now mom. We have a mansion in Beverly Heights, and you'll probably never have to work again. Now's the time, you can go all in into your dream, and nothing can stop you!" Jane smiled as Spencer challenged her, giving him a squeeze when he finished.

"You're right, Sweetie! I think that might be part of why he put us in his Will. People might say some unflattering things about Billy Joe, but he was a real softie on the inside. When we were little, he'd love to play this game were he was a prince who was trapped in a tower, and I was the knight in shining armor who would always save the day. Then I'd reveal that I was actually the dragon who put him there in the first place, and that I'd fallen madly in love with him and turned myself human to win his affections. He always liked that plot twist. Billy would sing a little song about our adventure of the day before he had to go back to being famous, and I'd always try to remember them, but by the time he'd come back to visit, I'd have forgotten it completely."

She frowned as she looked around the room and pressed her cheek into Spencer's hair. "Around the time he turned fifteen, he stopped coming over to visit. I missed him, but it's not easy to get someone as famous as Billy Joe was to plan a visit to such a small town. I'd always thought, it would have been nice to save Billy just one more time…" Jane sniffed, and pressed her cheek into Spencer hair even harder.

"Turns out it was just the opposite. Even dead, he was able to save our family better than I ever could have." Spencer hugged his mom and pressed himself as close as possible to her trembling figure. "You did great at protecting us mom, Billy helped, but it was you who kept us together. Money will never be as important as us just being together. And look! Now we're together here, we made it all in one piece. I say you did a great job, and I bet Billy would think so too."

Jane laughed and wiped at her face delicately, taking Spencer face and rubbing lightly at his fading shiner. "You're right, I was pretty great, wasn't I?" Spencer smiled and nodded sincerely, which just made his mom laugh harder.

"Thank you for listening Honey. It's nice to talk about him, I miss him so much." His mom patted his hair down and stood up. "I'm going to talk with Mr. Johnson, I think I've kept him waiting long enough. Remember to come down for dinner at six, o.k? I love you Monkey."

Jane leaned forward and gave him a small kiss of the forehead, them left the Freaky Tiki room. Just as Spencer was about to get up to collect Billy, he phased through the wall behind him and swooped down in front of the chair. "Hey, Spendragon! How was talking with the Momer?" Spencer slumped in the chair a bit and grunted. "I don't know? Nice? Kinda sad? How was catching up with The Party Machine?"

Billy frowned, then slumped midair as if slouching in an invisible chair. "Saaaaame. Less catching up, more catching on."

Spencer glanced up at the clock and saw it was 4:30. He looked at the bored looking spirit and smiled. "I don't have to be anywhere till six, wanna play robots Vs zombies?" Billy perked up and spun around till he was facing Spencer again. "Only if I get to be a robot!" Spencer sprang out of his chair and ran toward the Freaky Tiki doors. "Race ya! No phasing or flying, last one there has to be player two!" Billy landed on the ground and sprinted to the door after him. "No fair, dude! I'm never number two!"


	13. Thirteenth Episode! Neighborhood Blues!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, are you two ready for the housewarming party your mom and I are throwing?" Hugh asked, glancing to the backseat with an excited smile directed at them. "I hear there are some great people in the neighborhood, and I'm sure you two will make some new friends too! Spencer's already pretty close to the Bugwatti twins, maybe you'll find some friends too Jessica!" Spencer cringed at the reminder of Shanilla and Rajeev, dreading their next meeting already.

It had been exactly two weeks since Adam had been hired as the Wright family's personal bodyguard. Jessica had thought he was cool, but insisted she didn't need his help to kick Cobra Heads in. Hugh had seemingly forgotten he was supposed to be a bodyguard and kept trying to get Adam to help him with his inventions and projects. Jane had him come with her on shopping trips and the like, but saw no need for him inside the mansion. So, Billy and Spencer were usually left with all the time they needed to hang with him.

"-and this, is how you make a proper peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Adam finished cutting off the crust and presented Spencer with the most ridiculously perfect PB&J he'd ever seen. He almost didn't want to eat it.

"Wrong! You put way too much jelly in there! There's a reason it's called a PB&J, not a J&PB." Billy slapped the perfect sandwich out of Spencer's hand, Adam quickly snatching it before it hit the ground. Billy hip bumped Adam to the side, ignoring Spencer's displeased grumbling over his snack.

"Chillax, Spenalty kick. If you want a PB&J that's worth the snacking, you can't go wrong with a Cobra Special! Just watch and learn!" Billy went to work on his version of a good PB&J while Adam gave Spencer a pitying glance. "What? Is it bad?" Adam looked away and purposefully ignored the question while Spencer stewed. Why did this have to happen? He just wanted a sandwich!

"Alrighty! Here it is, the sandwich of the most delectable ratios of P, B and J. The Cobra Special!" Spencer looked at the sandwich, making sure to inspect every inch of it thoroughly. It seemed pretty normal, he didn't get why Adam looked so sorry for him. He took and bite and saw Adam wince, but he still couldn't tell what the big deal was.

"Sooooooo?" Billy was obviously hurting for some praise, giving Spencer his special, did-I-do-good? look. Spencer had learned during the time he'd spent with the ghost that for someone with such overwhelming narcissism, he sure was insecure.

"Ish…" Spencer tried to swallow, but he realized too late that the dry lump of paste in his mouth was entirely made of peanut butter and dry bread. "Where's the J, BJC?" Adam sighed, shaking his head sympathetically as Spencer grabbed a glass and hurriedly filled it with water. "Ooooh yeah. Did I forget to mention The Cobra Special was a sandwich specially tailored to the Cobra's tastes? I wasn't really a fan of the Jelly Jam so…"

Spencer washed down the concrete concoction and gasped. "The was the dryest sandwich I've ever eaten! Adam, can I have that one?" Adam smiled and handed back his sandwich, which Spencer happily accepted. He took one bite and regretted it. "This is all jelly! What is wrong with you two?" Spencer handed the sandwich back to a surprised Adam, swallowed the slimy glob of jelly and washed it down with the rest of the glass of water.

"I'd rather eat a normal PB&J, thank you very much!" Spencer went to make his own sandwich but was interrupted by his mom's voice. "Spencer come to the door! Our neighbors are paying a visit! Come say hi!" Spencer set down the slices of bread and sighed, sending Billy and Adam a glare as they finished off their respective sandwiches and went to the entryway.

"Spencer, say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Bugwatti! They're our neighbors from down the street! And these are their kids, Shanilla and Rajeev. They're your age Spencer, isn't that nice?" Spencer waved and tried to smile past the obvious hinting his mom was doing. Just because people were the same age didn't mean they automatically became friends! Spencer looked on as the Bugwattis looked around the entryway, the parents chatting happily away with his mom and dad.

"Soooo... What do your parents do?" Spencer felt nervous talking to the siblings as they both looked at him like he'd just walked out of a dumpster. "Our parents are producers, they make some of the most popular Bollywood films in the world. What do your parents do?" Rajeev droned, looking bored with the conversation already. Spencer froze and tried to think of some way to make his dad being an nurse and his mom being a waitress sound cool.

"Hey Spenthouse! Who are these guys?" Billy flew up next to him, Adam close behind, and Spencer saw his way out. "Uh! This, is my bodyguard! Adam, how about you show these two the Freaky Tiki room? I'll be with you guys in a sec, I just...Have a thing!" Spencer gave Adam an apologetic smile and grabbed Billy by the collar as he ran back to the kitchen. "Billy, I need your help!"

Billy readjusted his collar and smiled, reclining in the air. "Just ask and you shall receive. I'm here to help!" Spencer started to pace as he laid out the issue. "Those kids you saw are Shanilla and Rajeev, and they're super rich, and I don't know how to not look like a poor loser in front of them! You were like, super rich and popular right? What did you do?" Billy preened at the ego stroking and planted a reassuring hand on Spencer's shoulder as he floated down onto his feet.

"Listen Spence-Monkey, when people meet me, I usually don't have to try to get them to like me. Being a handsome, talented, absurdly rich postar, kinda takes care of that." Spencer seemed to wilt at Billy's words, and Billy gave his shoulder another comforting squeeze. "But! On the off chance that I have to be even more impressive than I usually am, I had a few tricks of the trade I can share with you. Don't sweat it, the Cobra's got you covered!"

Billy grabbed Spencer under the armpits and made him see through, flying up and phasing them both into his room. Spencer stumbled a bit, though was able to recover quickly from the sudden scene change. Bill had taken to pulling him up and through multiple objects and through various rooms the past two weeks, and he was almost used to it. "First, you need to dress to impress! You're gonna wanna look like you're rich enough to afford the trendiest clothes, but also casual enough with it, that you're not even trying. It's my signature move!"

Billy flew into his closet and started rummaging around, pulling out ridiculous items of clothing that either looked too weird or too expensive to wear. Billy finally seemed to decide and spun around Spencer so fast he couldn't follow him. "I'm thinking, we go for a classic, low cut, five pocket button fly, with a trim fit, long sleeve, tartan plaid button up! With the sleeves rolled up of course. We're trying to go for a casual look here!"

When Billy finally flew back to admire his work, Spencer was dressed in something that looked...normal. It looked good, and it was fashionable, but it was also something that was passable to wear in casual settings too. "Leaves ya kinda speechless, don't it?" Billy gloated, floating lazily over to a gaping Spencer and lightly closing his mouth. Spencer blushed when he realized he'd been literally slack jawed and looked at his outfit more critically. "I look like a fashionable lumberjack." He observed, all he was missing was the boots.

"Plaid is in right now, don't be a lame-aosaurus! Just get back out there and do what I say, alright?" Billy shoved Spencer into the elevator and followed his descent through the floor, giving him a thumbs up when Spencer stepped out at the bottom. Spencer nodded, taking a few readying breaths and making his way to the Freaky Tiki room. He waved at his parents as he passed them by, the elder Bugwatti's and his mom and dad seeming to be thoroughly enjoying each others company. Why couldn't he get the friendly ones? When he entered the Freaky Tiki room, Shanilla and Rajeev where sitting on the couch, both on their respective phones, looking bored and extremely unimpressed with the indoor waterfall.

Adam raised an eyebrow at Spencer's clothes and Spencer gave him a I'll-tell-you-later look. Spencer walked over to the siblings, but stopped in his tracks when he realized he didn't know what to say. They looked grumpy, what if they got angry at him for making them wait? Spencer looked back at Billy and gave him a pleading look.

"Act like you were busy! Rich people hate being kept waiting unless they think you're off doing something important, like making money or ordering a hit!" Spencer frowned at the last part of Billy's advice, hoping it wasn't learned from experience.

"S-sorry! About the wait, I was…" Shanilla looked up from her phone and leveled Spencer with an irritated glare, and Rajeev didn't even bother looking up. "-ordering a hit! Someone got in the way of...business. Adam! Go get on that!" Spencer snapped his fingers and tried to ignore the confusion in Adam's face as he reluctantly marched out of the room. Billy gave Spencer a thumbs up and Spencer smiled at the expressions on the siblings faces. Despite the topic, they actually looked impressed.

"Soooo, what is your business?" Shanilla asked, sitting up and elbowing her brother when he tried to go back to his phone. Rajeev sent her a quick glare and put away his phone. "Yeah! I heard your family only became millionaires and got this place because you inherited it from Billy Joe Cobra. " Spencer looked to Billy again, regretting his earlier excuse and its various holes.

"Uhhhhh, o.k! Lying won't work if they already know the truth, soooo...Tell them you had a business before you got my stuff! Nothing legitimate either, don't want them fact checking." Spencer was pretty sure this was going to backfire badly, but he didn't really have any better ideas so he went with it. "I won't deny Billy's fortune was a nice bonus, but my family's business isn't something you should concern yourself with. It's sorta hush hush, if you know what I mean."

"No, we don't." Shanilla deadpanned, managing to look even more unimpressed than before. Spencer looked to Billy again, but Rajeev pulled at his attention. "So? Tell us already! Or are you just bluffing?" Spencer felt his stomach clench and thought hard. He didn't exactly have any good options, what, was he supposed to admit to selling weapons or something? As he looked back to Billy for ideas his eyes were drawn to the pug themed phone case Rajeev had.

"P-pugs! We're illegal pug dealers! You-you can't tell anyone though, it's not something my family's really proud of." The teens looked at Spencer like he'd grown another head. "Pugs? How can selling dogs be illegal?" Shanilla questioned in disbelief. Spencer pushed forward, trying to remember every single thing he knew about crime and dogs. " Well, you'd be surprised, especially considering we don't sell just any pugs. These puppies are purebred and very well trained! In fact, you know the famous singer Bobby Joe? That pug he owns is one of ours! And Robby William, the comedian, he's got one too! "

Spencer was thanking his lucky stars he'd read that dumb article about famous people and pugs, who knew it'd come in handy so soon? "Really?" the siblings said in unison, and Billy gave Spencer a double thumbs up."Nailed it, Spenknife!" Spencer smiled and shrugged confidently. "Well, celebs love a good pug, what can I say? Like I said, it's very hush hush, so don't try and bring it up. If you ask, my parents will just say they were a nurse and a waitress before we moved here."

Shanilla and Rajeev nodded eagerly and Spencer looked to Billy for the next step. "Offer them some refreshments! These guys probably got dragged here by their parents, they're exhausted!" Spencer nodded minutely and spread his arms in welcome, "How about something to drink? I'm feeling pretty famished myself, let me just-" As Spencer was about to head to the kitchen, Billy flew in front of his with his hands up.

"Whoa, hey! Only middle class losers get things themselves! Get your servants to do it!" Spencer was about to tell Billy he didn't have any servants, but remembered he'd look crazy if he started arguing with himself. "-get, my manservant to do that." He looked around and remembered he'd sent Adam away to kill a fake person. Was he still nearby? "Adam? You...done with that job yet?"

Adam came through the doors with a unimpressed look on his face and nodded. "Yes, I took care of that." He droned, giving Spencer and Billy a questioning look. "Just go with it, Adam Bomb!" Billy flew up to Adam and gave him a set of puppy dog eyes, Adam valiantly trying to resist before sighing and turning to Spencer. "What can I assist you with?"

"Just get me and my guests some refreshments." Spencer watched as Adam nodded, sent Billy a glare, and went to the kitchen. He hoped he'd looked comfortable ordering Adam around, cause he didn't feel comfortable with it. "How about I show you guys around the mansion? It's a pretty interesting place, being the home of a popstar and all." The sibling got up and nodded.

"What about the drinks? Shouldn't we wait?" Shanilla elbowed Rajeev again, and he stuck out his tongue at her. "Hey! I'm thirsty!" Rajeev whined at his sister, and she rolled her eyes. "What my brother means to say, is that it might be difficult for your manservant to find us if we leave." Spencer scoffed and waved a hand dismissively. "It's his job to be at my side. If he couldn't find me in my own home, I'd have fired him by now!" Billy looked shocked at Spencer's response, and Spencer felt the way Billy looked. That just slipped out! "Way to get in character, Broton!" Billy praised, and Spencer let himself relax, especially after Rajeez and Shanilla got that impressed look again.

Spencer straightened his collar, made his way to the double door of the Freaky Tiki room, and motioned for them to leave. "Now, if you two would follow me, I'm gonna give you the tour of the century!"

======================================================================================================================================

Pretending to be rich was exhausting! Giving Shanilla and Rajeev a tour of the mansion had felt like a good idea at the time, but these two were insufferable! Rajeev was shallow and kept asking questions like 'How much does this cost?' and inspecting himself in every reflective surface he encountered. If Spencer didn't know any better, he'd say he was the most narcissistic person he'd ever met, yet surprisingly, Spencer actually enjoyed the presence of the one who held that title.

Shanilla was somehow even worse. She nitpicked at every, single, thing he did and said. He felt like he was walking on eggshells every time she so much as looked at him. What was worse, when she wasn't needling Spencer like a ragdoll, she was totally ignoring him to look at her phone! Now he knew how Billy felt when he'd acted unimpressed by his things.

After Adam had found them in front of the waterslide (It was the only thing the Bugwatti's seemed to actually like.) and given them all waters, Spencer got to see them in action. "Are you kidding me? This is a water, I wanted a smoothie! It doesn't even have ice!" Rajeev tried to slap the drink out of Adam's hand, but he easily dodged with a very unamused look. Shanilla was more polite, if polite meant throwing the water into the nearest potted plant, and missing. "Opps. I spilled. Have your maids take care of that, won't you?"

Spencer forced a smile on as Billy frowned at their behavior. "Spence, why are we trying to impress these moldy gym socks? They're jerks." Spencer shrugged slightly and sighed. He knew it was dumb, but he'd wanted to make them think he was cool, maybe even be friends. Now he could see they weren't worth effort, and it was slightly disappointing. Having a friend who lived in the neighborhood, who knew about Beverly Heights would have been great, but it looked like getting along with the local rich kids was a dead end. He liked Billy, but having a friend that was alive and visible would have been nice.

They were both ignoring him when he'd finally returned to the Freaky Tiki room and was showing off the waterfall. "These chump-trumpets wouldn't know quality if it hit them in the head!" Billy raged, much less reserved with his frustration then Spencer. At least he wasn't the only one who was on his last nerve. Spencer was about to suggest Adam throw them into the waterfall, consequences be damned, when unfamiliar voices called.

"Kids! We're heading home! You can play with your little friend later!" The siblings left without even a goodbye and Spencer didn't bother to follow. "Good riddance!" Billy grumbled, Adam giving a agreeing huff. "Well, that sucked." Spencer sighed, slumping into the pillow chair. "Sorry I was such a jerk Adam. They weren't worth that, and you didn't deserve it either." Adam smiled and was about to respond when Jane called.

"Spencer, come to the kitchen!" He got out of his chair and went to the kitchen, Billy and Adam following close behind. When Spencer entered the kitchen he found his mom on a baking spree. "What's happening?" He asked as she put a cake in the oven. "Oh! Well Leena And Yash told me the best way to get to know the rest of our neighbors was to throw a housewarming party! Don't worry about your friends Honey, they'll be coming back this evening, Yash is sending out the invitations so they had to go back home for a bit."

Billy cheered around a mouthful of cupcakes that he'd swiped from Jane's baked goods pile and flew around. "Housh Warmi Paaareeee!" Adam managed to keep a straight face at the sight. Spencer wasn't very fazed by the excited ghost because he was too busy being horrified.

They're coming back?" Spencer groaned. Jane hummed a little tune as she filled deviled eggs and nodded. "I know you enjoyed hanging out with your friends, and I can't blame you! The Bugwatti's are an absolute delight! But you'll just have to wait for a bit. Now go with your father to pick up Jessica from that kung fu class of hers. I'll need the whole family to help decorate!"

Spencer wanted to tell his mom he never wanted to see the Bugwatti's again, but he knew it'd be lost on her, so he sighed and went to look for his dad. Adam went to follow, but Jane grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back. "I'll be needing your help here Mr. Johnson, Spencer will be fine!" Adam sent Spencer a pleading look, but he couldn't stop his mom when she set her mind on something.

"See you later Adam!" Spencer called back as Billy kept glancing back at the kitchen in concern. "You know what? You don't need me! I'll just go back and help J-bird and the A Man with those cupcakes-" Before Billy could try and fly away, Spencer grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him along.

"Oh no, you don't! I won't let you eat all my moms hard work because I'm not there to keep an eye on you! You're staying with me." Billy groaned and let himself be dragged, grumbling something about 'Party pooper' and a 'Stick in the mud' as Spencer rolled his eyes. "Oh, hush! Unfortunately, we'll be seeing all that food and the Bugwatti's soon enough."

=========================================================================================================================

"-now I'm the dojo's Taekwondo Ace! Did you know being the Ace gives you special privileges? The other's have to do whatever I want, and I get to spar whenever I want!" Billy was pushed as far away from Jessica as possible as she recounted her first day at the dojo. Spencer couldn't blame him, his sister was pretty terrifying, beating down an entire dojo and all.

"Your sister is a beast! I've never even heard of a one hundredth degree black belt!" Billy tried to pull Spencer closer to shield him, so he gave Billy a teasing poke in the stomach, the ghost giggling and slapping his hand."You know, you probably didn't have to fight the visiting families. They were just there to watch! If you keep pulling stunts like that, you'll probably get kicked out" Jessica snarled in response and glared at Spencer challengingly, making Billy whimper and cower behind him even more.

"Your sister's just enthusiastic about her new dojo, aren't you Sweetie? It's so nice to see you applying those skills of yours to an art that won't get you arrested!" Hugh enthused, smiling at Jessica as if she hadn't just thrashed a group of highly trained adult men. Jessica smiled proudly, and even if it was a ridiculously low bar to reach, Spencer was proud of his sister too. He hadn't been the only one to have trouble in school, and Jessica never had the chance to let off steam in a dojo before. She'd always wanted to go to classes or martial art clubs, but they'd never been able to afford it. Maybe she'd finally be recognized for her talent instead of her detention record.

"So, are you two ready for the housewarming party your mom and I are throwing?" Hugh asked, glancing to the backseat with an excited smile directed at them. "I hear there are some great people in the neighborhood, and I'm sure you two will make some new friends too! Spencer's already pretty close to the Bugwatti twins, maybe you'll find some friends too Jessica!" Spencer cringed at the reminder of Shanilla and Rajeev, dreading their next meeting already.

"Twins? They didn't look anything like each other!" Billy challenged, looking at Hugh accusingly. Spencer held back explaining to Billy how twins worked in exchange for updating his dad. "Mom says we have to help her decorate. I don't think we even have decorations. What are we gonna decorate with, the Christmas lights?" His dad laughed as the Mansion came into view. "The Bugatti's throw parties all the time, and they were so excited about helping us throw our own, they're going to lend us their decorations! I think it's going to be hawaiian themed!"

Spencer sighed as his dad made his way to the gate and looked at Billy, who was halfway phased through the car door. "Hey, don't not let those rusty forks get in the way of your party. There's probably loads of other kids around that would have to be brain dead to not want you as a friend! You're throwing a party in my house Spennyworth! It's gonna be a blast, I promise!" Spencer couldn't help but smile at the encouragement. Billy was right, he could probably make some really great friends at this party, and even if he didn't, he wouldn't end the night friendless, that's for sure.

The Hugh-man had been right, Billy hadn't seen so many Hawaiian themed decorations since he'd been to that party resort in Hawaii! He'd helped set decorations up of course, no way could Spencer hang up streamers and banners with how short he was, and Billy wouldn't deny having fun flaunting his six foot five stature at the kid.

"It's not fair!" He'd whined when Billy had straightened out a crooked banner Spencer had been struggling to put up. "You're a literal Titan! And besides, you can fly!"

Billy had spent the rest of the decorating process only flying when completely necessary, just to rub in Spencer's face how short he was. Sure, Billy was pretty tall, but Spencer was also just a little too short for his age. He was sure he'd get a growth spurt soon, but until then, Billy was gonna tease the heck out of the little squirt of beans.

Besides, Billy was a party master, decorating was second nature to him! "Billy, you can't put glitter on the fans, best case scenario is, only half the guests get glitter in their eyes and sue."

Billy pouted at Spencer and stopped dumping piles of multicolored glitter on the ceiling fan blades. "Can I least put bubble makers in the air conditioner?"

Spencer looked super confused for a moment before groaning and shaking his head stubbornly. "What even-No! This is a housewarming party, not a concert!" Billy floated down and set the glitter on a side table with a loud clack.

"Every Party can be a Cobra Grade Party if it tries hard enough. C'mon Spenguin! Bubbles never hurt anybody! Your parents are super chill, they'll love it!"

Spencer looked conflicted for a moment and Billy held his breath unnecessarily, mouthing pretty please and clasping his hands when Spencer looked at him thoughtfully.

"Fine! Fine, but no glitter. And this is it, o.k? I don't want you asking if you can-I don't know, fill the pool with jello or something."

Billy held back from telling Spencer that he'd actually done that before, and nodded excitedly. "You won't regret it, dude!" He cheered and went to partyfy the air conditioner.

Spencer sighed but couldn't help but smile at the ghosts antics. He'd been a little worried about looking immature or nerdy around Billy when they'd starting hanging out, but time and time again Billy had proven just how wrong he was. If anything, he'd found himself playing the older more mature voice of reason these past few weeks. Not that he minded, it let him have a comforting sense of control, and that was just what he needed during a time when he'd felt he'd had no control whatsoever.

Any time he actually needed mature insight he usually turned to Adam or his parents anyway, Billy was more of a crazy college student then a mentor. Besides, Billy was still always super open whenever he asked for advice, if he didn't know any better, he'd say the pop star looked forward to it. He laughed out loud when Billy came back looking disgruntled and covered in soapy bubbles.

"What, didn't the bubble makers work?" Billy scowled and flew over to Spencer quickly.

"It just got a little out of hand, o.k, I got distracted! Besides that's not important right now. The Wonder Twins are headed this way!" Spencer cringed at the news and momentarily weighed the pros and cons of making a run for it and hiding in his room instead of suffering through another second of the twins.

"Spencer! Come say hi! Your friends are here!" Too late. Spencer sighed and reluctantly made his way to the front door, dragging an equally put upon looking Billy with him. "This suuuuuuuuuucksssss…" Billy groaned as Spencer steeled himself for the inevitable encounter. "Who knows?" Spencer tried to enthuse, looking to Billy with a strained smile. "Maybe they were just shy the first time. I'm sure they're not totally awful all the time...Right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give Shanilla and Rajeev an interesting entrance, and the conflict ideas where honestly endless. Why are Shanilla and Rajeev the worst? How will the party go? Was this all some huge misunderstanding? Is Spencer really not going to end the night friendless? Find out, in the next chapter!
> 
> I also want to tell my readers that from now on I'll be updating once a month!
> 
> Thank you to those who've reviewed my story! I really appreciate you all telling me what you like and want so see more of. I just want you to know I take everything you say to heart and I do write with you guys in mind!


	14. Fourteenth Episode! Neighborhood Knockdown!

Wrong. Totally, one hundred percent, no questions asked, wrong. If possible, the Bugwatti twins were even worse now than during their first meeting. It was like they were doing everything in their power to degrade and embarrass him and his family!

"You know? I used to think it was impossible not to look cute as a baby. Guess there's a first for everything, huh Spencer?" Shanilla droned over a baby picture of him she'd come across. Spencer didn't even bother responding to that one, just sighing and eating another deviled egg. "Alright four eyes, put em up!" Billy growled, looking seconds away from going poltergeist on her, Spencer idly yanked Billy back by his collar and shook his head.

"Come on, Spence! She's got it coming!" Spencer just shoved a deviled egg in Billy's mouth and sighed again. He was doing a lot of that, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything else. While he appreciated the gesture Billy was trying for, he couldn't let him blow his cover for a couple of jerks with no manners. What's more, the guests that had started to file in where all old rich people that Spencer couldn't even attempt to try and hold a conversation with. So until someone who wasn't over 50 showed up, he was stuck with the siblings from hell.

Just as Spencer began losing his grip on the frustrated ghost (and his will to hold him back at all), a cheerful, feminine voice echoed across the buffet table into his ears.

"Woooooow! This place really is as cool as the magazines said!"

Billy froze mid flight and Spencer sat up. That sounded like-

"Holly hotcakes! Cute honey at two o'clock!" Billy cheered, dashing over to the well dressed blond on the other side of the buffet table. Spencer froze, casting a wary glance behind himself to the Butwatti twins in worry. He was surprised to see they were suddenly nowhere to be found.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Spencer smiled as he straightened up and made his way over to the cute blond girl. Billy was already sizing her up, looking over her clothes and mannerisms critically. When he caught sight of Spencer warily approaching, he smiled and gave him the thumbs up.

"She's a looker, bro! Just remember what I told you and go get her!"

Spencer nodded mutely and walked over to the girl in what he hoped looked like a confident swagger and not the nervous limp he felt it was.

"Uh, hey, I'm Spencer Wright! Nice to meet you…?"

"Oh! I've heard about you! You're family inherited Billy Joe Cobra's fortune and mansion, right? I'm Lolo Calorie, daughter of the multi billionaire owner of Angelicast! I'm loving this party! Where you the one who thought up the bubble makers?"

Spencer and Billy shared a knowing look. This girl was a keeper, no doubt about that. Compared to the twins, she might as well be Mother Teresa!

"Actually, yeah! You know how it is with these housewarming parties, they can be a real snooze fest unless you know what you're doing. So, how exactly did you hear about my...family situation?"

Lolo giggled and nodded over to a slender blond woman who was talking with his parents excitedly. Billy gasped, but before Spencer could look into his friends reaction, Lolo pulled at his attention.

"That woman over there is Holly Wood! She's like, the most successful journalist in Beverly Heights! She's also a huge fan of The Cobra, so she's been doing some pretty in depth reporting on your family for a while now. I would kill for that kind of free press, especially if it was done by Holly Wood!"

Spencer nodded along with Lolo's explanation, thinly veiled confusion written across his features. He'd had no idea so many people knew about his family. It made sense though, considering that it involved Billy, he should have expected that the public would be, in Billy's words "All up in my business!".

Billy abruptly cut off Spencer's train of thought, flying directly in front of Lolo's face with a troubled expression on his face.

"Hey Spence, I don't wanna seem like a tool, but I gotta jet for a sec and check something out, kay? Just remember my advice and you'll be fine."

Spencer paled at Billy's words, but before he could try and plead for the specter to stay, Billy was already halfway across the living room.

"-ncer? Are you okay?"

Spencer nodded and took a long sip of punch to calm his now agitated nerves. Just when things were going well, Billy just had to choose that as the best time to bail on him! Calm down Spencer! You can do this! You've TRAINED FOR THIS! JUST-calm down…

"S-so, I haven't exactly been acquainted with the neighborhood. Mind telling me about everyone? You seem to know a lot about everyone here."

Lolo brightened at the compliment and looped her arm with Spencer's easily, gently pulling him around the living area and nodding to the guests.

"Okay! SO, that couple over there is Nancy and Rich Negato. His wife his part of the neighborhood committee, and Rich Negato is from some absurdly old money. My dad plays poker with him sometimes. In fact, last week my dad won a couple of small Islands in the Caribbean from him!"

Spencer blushed slightly as Lolo pulled him along, smiling as the Negatos nodded politely at him. Nancy Negato had what seemed to be a permanent scowl on her face, while Rich was too occupied with his drink to even look at him. He raised his eyebrows as Lolo spoke casually about her dad winning literal islands. Rich people…

"Those two whispering to each other are Kathy and Banks Chats. She's also part of the neighborhood committee, and is what I like to call, a serial gossiper. I'd bet my favorite boots she's doing it right now. Banks is kind of a pushover, and he's always getting roped into whatever vendetta of the week his wife's involved in. Just last month, she got him to call in some favors so she could get rid of her neighbors dog, just because she heard a rumor that her neighbor was letting it pee in her yard."

Spencer balked at the crazy story as he glanced at the couple, both of them ignoring them completely. "Are you serious? That's crazy!"

Lolo shrugged, involuntarily squeezing his arm as she did so. "Well, if it means anything, the rumor was true. Still, I miss Mr.Tinkles…"

Spencer was divided between thoroughly enjoying the feel of the cute girl squeezing his arm, or the acute horror rising within him as he became more and more aware of the, in his humble opinion, sickeningly wealthy people inside Billy's mansion. How was trading islands like candy and calling in questionable favors to get rid of dogs in any way normal?

Lolo tugged Spencer's arm gently as she discreetly nodded to another couple.

"Those two are Debbie and Cash Donner. Debbie's another member of the neighborhood committee and actually really nice, but she's got a bad case of empty nest syndrome. Her daughter and son both went to college five years ago, and she's still not over it. Cash doesn't really seem to know how to deal with it, so he just keeps on buying her cats. She's got four last I counted, but other than the litter smell, she's really sweet."

As Spencer and Lolo passed, Debbie waved over to them sweetly, a small kitten nestled in the crook of her arm. Spencer waved back and looked to Lolo questioningly.

"So far, every woman here seems to be a part of the neighborhood committee. What do they even do?"

Lolo looked around nervously before pulling Spencer into a secluded corner. Spencer tried to keep himself from freaking out over their position, but it was proving difficult. They were so close-!

"Okay, listen up, cause I can't just, like, say any of this in public unless I want a target on my back. The neighborhood committee are the official enforcers of the rules and regulation needed to live in this area. They're no joke either, and trust me when I say, you don't want to cross them. The last person who did that was Billy Joe Cobra, and he's dead."

Spencer paled, glancing around in fear as Lolo's words sunk in.

"Are you telling me the neighborhood committee killed-"

"What? No! I mean, I'm pretty sure they didn't, but who knows? My dad says he had a talent for pushing the wrong people's buttons, and the neighborhood committee is made up of a lot of powerful people. Still, I don't think they'd go that far."

Spencer relaxed a bit, but not by much. He'd thought Billy had been joking, or, he'd been hoping he had, when he'd talked about ordering a hit. Now? He wasn't so sure. How could these people talk so easily about conspiracy and murder?

Lolo suddenly pulled Spencer out from their corner and looper her arm around his again. Spencer tried to collect himself as she pulled him along into another guest filled room.

"Oh! Those five! From left to right, that's Susan and Dusty Lazlo, Susan's in the committee. Ransom Nervona and his wife Nellie, Nellie is also a committee member, and he, is the President of the neighborhood committee, Rusty Steele."

Spencer's gut dropped at the sight of the ancient looking man, his mind instantly calling up a story with a very similar name.

'So Rusty-He always told me to call him, 'Mr. Steele' but when I found out his name was Rusty I couldn't resist-'

"That's Rusty Steele?"

"You've heard of him? Well, I suppose that makes sense. He's been president of the committee longer that most of the mansions in this neighborhood have been around! Really strict too, I would avoid getting on his bad side."

Spencer nodded, holding back the small part of him that wanted to grill the old jerk about his indoor waterfalls. How was it fair that he was still alive and kicking while Billy was left ghostifed and alone? Spencer scowled and let himself be led away by Lolo before he did anything that could land him in hot water.

"So Spencer, do you know what school you'll be going to? If your parents don't send you to a boarding school, I think it'd be really cool if you went to Beverly Beverly High! That's where I go, and it's really great there!"

Spencer frowned at the mention of boarding school. There was no way his parents would be sending him away to some boarding school. Just because they were rich didn't mean they would be acting like rich people did.

"Beverly Beverly High? Is there any chance they have a film club?"

Lolo giggled, giving him a playful shove and shaking her head.

"Are you kidding me Spencer?"

Spencer blushed and looked down but before he could stutter out some excuse Lolo interrupted him.

"Oh course we have a film club! This is Beverly Heights, we have a film class! All the best directors and producers come from Beverly Beverly High. Why do you ask?"

Spencer could hide his excitement at the prospect of going to a school with a film class. This could be his chance, and Lolo went there too! Spencer put on a confident smile and tried to call up his inner Billy.

"Well, I don't want to brag or anything, but I'm actually planning on becoming a director myself! Beverly Beverly High sounds like it would be a great place for me to start, too. What else can you tell me about it?"

Lolo's eyes widened at his confident demeanor and she smiled and pulled him closer.

"Well, first of all, I can tell you I think you would fit right in at Beverly Beverly High. I'm sort of popular there, and with my help? You'll be a director no problem! Beverly Beverly is the place to get your foot in the metaphorical door of show biz! It's full of kids with connections and it's never short on resources either!"

Spencer nodded along eagerly as Lolo sat them down near the Buffet table and got himself a plate of caviar crackers. This school sounded like a dream come true! It almost sounded too good to be real, what, with the film class and the unlimited resources. Rich people could be super weird sometimes, but let it not be said that they were stingy when it came to going all out when it came to their kids.

As Lolo idly took a caviar cracker from Spencer's plate and sipped on a glass of punch, Spencer couldn't help but wonder where Billy was. He'd left a while ago, and it seemed like he hadn't seen a single glimpse of the ghost since then. Not that he really needed him right now or anything, but it would be nice to know. Lolo was really great, and Spencer just really wanted Billy to know how well things were going.

"Uh, hey Lolo? I'm loving what you're dishing right now, but I need to...check on my pet mini alligator! Yeah, she, really only eats when I feed her sooo...I'll be back in a few!"

Lolo nodded in understanding (Spencer wondered if mini alligators were a common thing among rich people) as Spencer quickly made his way through the party.

====================================================================================================================================  
Billy had been enjoying his time hanging with Spencer and his (hopefully) new friend when he'd seen her. Holly Wood. He'd hadn't had seen much of her after...well after. He'd seen of few interviews she'd done about his disappearance on TV, mostly because she'd been one of the last people to see him and interview him.

He could still remember one of the first interviews she'd done, having watched it himself on his TV one afternoon. She'd been interviewed by an old hag of a interviewer, which was a stark contrast to Holly in all her long hair and warm eyes. While she'd look visibly distraught while talking about him, she'd still managed to retain her strong voice.

"We-we had some drinks, then my brother and I invited him over and we talked...He left around-"

"That's all you did? Just talk?"

"...No...We also had sex. Afterwards we talked some more and he left-"

"So you and Billy Joe Cobra-"

"He was alive when I saw him last! I tried to call him for a follow up a few days later but he didn't answer."

"...Why did you leave out-"

"Because that's not important! Billy has been missing for a week now! And all you seem to want to talk about is useless gossip! Did you call me here for a real interview, or do you just want to make light of a serious issue for some cheep-"

Billy had been taken aback by Holly's fire, but ultimately appreciated her words. He felt a little guilty to admit it, but it had been nice to see someone angry for him. While he always enjoyed seeing himself on the news, seeing people talk about shallow stuff like the style of the clothes he was last seen in or if he'd only disappeared for attention was annoying at best and depressing at worst. Every time he'd seen Holly on TV or in a magazine, she never hesitated to tell people what was up, and she was always serious when it came to his disappearance.

As Billy watched Holly walk away from Spencer's parents and disappear around a corner, Billy was overcome with the urge to follow after her. He knew she wouldn't be able to see him but-

Billy quickly flew in front of Spencer, eyes darting to where he'd last seen Holly in fear of losing her.

"Hey Spence, I don't wanna seem like a tool, but I gotta jet for a sec and check something out, kay? Just remember my advice and you'll be fine."

He quickly flew after Holly, not daring to wait for Spencer's response. He'd probably want him to stay, and while Billy liked Spencer asking him for advice, Spencer was a smart kid. He'd be able to handle himself no problem.

"-don't think they're potential suspects Ash. They're too nice, and I'm not being soft either. They're just genuinely good people, they don't have the resources or the background for it."

Billy instantly recognized Holly's voice and followed it to the Freaky TIki room. It was almost empty except for two very familiar faces.

"Hey, I trust you! If you don't think they're potential suspects then I'm right behind you. Still, do you think we might be able to use the Mansion opening up as a-"

"Yes. Yes, yes, and yes again. With the mansion opened up, there's a good chance that the culprit might make a move. Their motive might be vague, but this family moving in might be the opportunity we've been waiting for!"

Billy floated quietly over to Holly and Ash Wood, frowning in confusion at the weird topic of conversation. What were they talking about? Culprit? Suspects?

"But what about the Wrights? They have kids Holly, they could be in danger."

Billy was definitely having none of that! The Wrights were his, no one was allowed to mess with what was The Cobra's! Billy floated threateningly close to the unaware siblings, moments away from going poltergeist when Holly's face scrunched in a scowl and she huffed, taking an angry step back.

"I know that! There's no way I'm letting the sicko who took Billy hurt this family. We've been investigating this case for years Ash, I'm not letting them get away now. Not when I'm so close. This ends now."

Billy floated back in shock. They were investigating him? After all this time, they were still-?

"Sheesh! No need to go all grizzled detective on me! I know you won't let anything happen on your watch, I'm just worried about what happens when the time's out. We can't keep twenty four hour guard around this place. I talked with the father and he said the guard wouldn't be sticking around for much longer either. They have like, one body guard, and that's it."

Holly sighed, shoulders slumping as she sat down in one of the Freaky Tiki chairs. Ash sighed as well and sat next to her.

"...They're all that's left of him Ash. I just don't want to let him down...He would never forgive me if I let something happen to his family."

Ash scoffed and slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a half hug.

"He's also most likely very dead Holly. Look I miss him too, but we only really met him once. You can't keep beating yourself up about something you had no control of."

Holly shook her head stubbornly, though she didn't try to pull away from her brother either.

"I knew something was bothering him, but I was too much of a coward to ask him about it. If I had, we might knew who killed him, or-"

"Holly you can't undo the past. Look, if he were here to see you beating yourself up like this, he would probably tell you to take a chill pill or something. You're doing more than anyone else has and he'd appreciate it no matter how long it's taken for us to get this far."

Holly and Ash sat in silence for a few moments before she finally smiled at her brother and hugged him.

"...You're right...I guess just being here, with the decorations and everything...It just got to me."

"Happens to the best of us."

Billy watched the Holly and Ash get up from the Freaky Tiki chair and walk back towards the party. Billy simply stood in the Freaky TIki room and thought over everything he'd just learned.

Holly and Ash were still trying to investigate what happened to him. He'd thought after all this time that everyone had all but given up but they were still- But they hadn't found anything! All this time and they didn't even know who did it? Of even why? And if they couldn't, then what chance did Adam and Spencer have? Billy couldn't even remember some of his own life for some reason! For all Billy knew, Holly and Ash might know even more than he did and he was the one who'd been-

"Absolutely horrid!" I cannot believe he was allowed to make such a ghastly renovation! Can this even qualify as eccentric? I'm quite sure he just had god awful taste!"

Billy jumped into the air, cringing at the screechy voice the grated his ears. He quickly spun around to face what he assumed must be a banshee strangling a cat. What he found instead was much more familiar, and not in a good way.

"The neighborhood committee." Billy hissed, watching as stuck up old snobs filed into his Freaky Tiki room, all with similar sneers of distaste on their wrinkly faces. They were even older than when he'd last seen them. Good.

Billy floated up the worst perpetrator of snobbish oldness, and the one who'd started screeching in the first place, Nancy Negato.

"Still puckering your face like a sour backside, I see?" Billy grumbled as Nancy continued to prattle on and on about how awful she found his Mansion's design. What did she know about home design? He'd seen her house, and she was so not rocking the Greek pillar look.

Billy cast his eyes around the group in search of one particular wrinkly old face. It would make sense that he might not be around anymore considering his age but-

"S-so, these are the largest indoor waterfalls? They look so dangerous!"

"Third largest indoor waterfall Nellie, third. The Largest and second largest are within my mansion, remember?"

Billy zeroed in the the rough, gravelly voice of none other than-

"Rusty Steele! I knew if these losers where sniffing around my turf, you'd be at the head of their sorry little pack!"

Billy flew over to his waterfall and wasted no time in causing it to "accidentally" spray some water on all the neighborhood committee's heads. Their squeals of outrage were like the sweetest music, and he chuckled sinisterly as they all quickly filed out of his Freaky Tiki room.

If he didn't know any better, he'd think they were melting under the water's cooling spray, but sadly that wasn't the case. When he'd been less ghosty, he'd water ballooned the entire neighborhood committee with that very thought in mind, but found the only things about them that melted off was their makeup. It had been a ghastly sight.

"Of course his waterfall's broken! He never did proper maintenance!" Nancy screeched, uselessly dabbing her hair with a tissue.

Billy blew a raspberry at them and followed them out. He wasn't done with these tools yet, nobody insulted his house and got away with it!

…

Well except for Spencer, but that was it!

Billy floated after the neighborhood committee, clenching his teeth as they continued to nag and turn up their crooked noses at everything their eyes had the misfortune of landing on.

"I heard Billy Joe Cobra had a secret cultist dungeon built under his mansion! Yes, it's true! He was a Satanist, who kidnapped people and sacrificed them in this very Mansion! That's why no one can find him. He probably died in one if his secret tunnels or something!" Kathy stage whispered to a bored looking Susan.

Billy didn't even bother throwing her a scowl, simply snatching Kathy's wig (Yeah, he knew she wore a wig, long story.), off her balding head and tossing it into the punch bowl.

"Auugh! My-my- _Banks!_ " Kathy screeched, nearly giving her husband a heart attack as he scrambled over to the punch bowl and hurriedly slapped the soaking wig onto her head. Rusty gasped as some droplets of bright red punch splattered against his fancy suit, quickly grabbing a handkerchief and trying in vain to get the stains out.

"NO! Get me my other wig you IMICLIE!"

Kathy flung the sticky wig off her head into the trash and glared daggers into her husbands retreating back as he ran off to get her her spare wig.

"HAHAHAhahah! Serves you right! Maybe next time you'll lay off the gossip, Mill!" Billy gloated.

"I should had known something would go wrong when I accepted that housewarming invitation. Nothing goes right for neighborhood committee members who step foot in Billy's mansion, isn't that right Mr. Fuzzybuns?" Debbie sighed, patting her kitten sadly as she handed Kathy a tissue for her now dripping head. Rusty remained silent, stowing his kerchief away and looking around thoughtfully.

"I c-couldn't agree more! This place is a death trap f-for civilized members of society! I'm going to have w-words with the new owners. It's about time the committee f-finally fixes the mockery of home that this mansion represents!"

"Not on my watch you won't!"

Billy flew over to the buffet table and picked up an armful cupcakes. As the gaggle of uppity committee members went to make their way to Spencer's parents, Billy threw the cupcakes onto the floor, frosting first. As high heels and modest flats alike stepped onto the sinister confections, they all slipped and fell, squealing and screeching like the she demons Billy was convinced they were. Rusty managed to grab a nearby chair and remain upright, though not without a lot of effort.

"Well, five out of six is still pretty good." Billy shrugged, watching in glee and the women struggled to stand with slippery cupcake frosting smeared on their shoes. At that exact moment, Banks rushed back in with his wifes backup wig in hand, looking a little winded. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of his wife and company all splayed on the ground and covered in cupcake chunks.

"Uhhh, do-do you still want-?"

"Just help me up, you IDIOT!"

Banks scrambled to haul his wife up, handing her her wing meekly as she angrily swiped it from his hands and messily adjusted it onto her head. Just as Billy was forming another plan involving Kathy's old wig and some of his ectoplasm, Spencer abruptly grabbed Billy's arm and tugged him down.

"What the heck are you DOING?"

Billy cringed, realizing how carried away he'd gotten and giving Spencer his best puppy dog pout in hopes of lightening the punishment he knew he'd be getting.

"Uh, okay, so, I might have gotten a little carried away and-"

"No! Not that! Well, actually yeah, some of that too. Lay of the neighborhood committee dude, or you're going to land me in hot water. I don't need that right now!"

Before Billy could ask Spencer how he knew about the neighborhood committee, Spencer was already pulling him towards the buffet table again.

"And speaking of right now, Lolo Calorie is waiting for me! I need you dude! Things are going really well. You have my back or what?"

Billy nodded enthusiastically. Spencer wanted him around even though things were going well! Billy would have cried if he'd been in a less cautious mood. He wouldn't ruin this for the kid because of some stray ecto, especially if things were going well.

"Hey Lolo! Just finished putting... Ms. Bitey to bed! You know mini alligators, always need their bedtime stories!"

Billy gave Spencer an impressed pat on the back. "Nice Brojangles! Mini alligators are always a must if you wanna look classy and need a good excuse to bail!"

Spencer gave Billy a proud huff in agreement, sitting next to Lolo easily. The kid was a natural!

Lolo giggled and nodded knowingly. "Oh yeah! My mini died last year but he was always such a spoiled little biter! I always read him Snow White to put him to sleep."

Spencer's face barely hid the confusion etched across it. Billy just rolled his eyes at Spencer's reaction to basic mini alligator care. This kid still managed to look totally aghast at the most juvenile things! Billy saw Lolo was starting to catch on, so he gave Spencer a light nudge in the ribs to break him out of his 'Rich people' internal rant. Yeah, Billy knew about those, Spencer talked in his sleep

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, totally...I just put on some audio books for my mini, but, you know, to each their own!"

"So Spencer, are you going to Beverly Beverly?" Lolo inquired excitedly. Before Spencer could answer, Billy was squealing like a four year old at DisneyLand and shaking his shoulders eagerly.

"Beverly Beverly High!? SpenStar, you have to go! Everybody who's anybody knows if you want to make it big, you gotta go to Beverly Beverly High!"

Spencer tensed so his shoulders they wouldn't shake so noticeably and whispered from the side of his mouth. "What about you?"

Billy stopped shaking Spencer so he could sprawl confidently in the air, posing like a billboard model. "Oh, Spence of little brain! This is me you're talking about. Eventually you're gonna have to learn I'm always the exception to the rule!"

Spencer held himself back from rolling his eyes and instead smiled confidently at Lolo. "Oh, for sure! I don't see I wouldn't want to go! Would by bodyguard be allowed on school grounds though?"

Lolo rolled her eyes good naturedly and snapped her fingers. In a matter of moments, a large blond man in a suit walked stiffly over to Lolo's side.

"Of course you'd be allowed to bring your bodyguard! I never leave home without mine! At Beverly Beverly High, there's nothing I can't do, and by extension, there's nothing you can't do!"

Spencer frowned in confusion, looking to Billy for some sort of explanation. Had he heard that right? Cause it kind of sounded like Lolo was saying the rules didn't apply to her. Lolo pointed to some cookies at the buffet table and her bodyguard quickly brought her the plate.

"I've decided! Spencer Wright, you're going to be a honorary member of my entourage!"

Spencer and Billy's jaws dropped in unison, though for completely different reasons. Billy grinned like a maniac, nudging Spencer excitedly while Spencer slumped in confusion. Lolo seemed unaware of Spencer's plight, simply taking a cookie and taking a delicate bite from it.

"I actually came here thinking it was gonna be a total loser fest, but you really surprised me. I can tell you still have a lot to learn, but you already seem to have a lot of the basics down, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. I mean, you're super rich, you live in The Billy Joe Cobra's crazy party mansion, and you can work a classic, low cut, five pocket button fly, with a trim fit, long sleeve, tartan plaid button up like a pro! You'll fit right in with the A-Listers!"

"So this was all some kind of test?" Spencer groaned, leaning back in his chair and distractedly taking a cookie from Lolo's bodyguard. Billy took a cookie too, quickly shoving into his mouth so no one would freak out over floating confections.

"So what's the problem, bro? She's giving you an in right now! You'll need someone like her if you wanna work your way up in Beverly Heights!"

"Well, yeah! I actually sent some spies here to check the place out, but they're functionally useless, so I decided to see everything for myself. They told me this place was a total dump, and that you were an awkward loser! Good thing I came in person, or who knows what could've happened?"

Spencer sat up uncomfortably as Lolo spoke casually about spying on him, and her spies apparent reports. Who were the spies anyway? Where they here now? Billy squeezed Spencer's shoulder comfortingly and floated down so Spencer could look at him more easily.

"Chillax, dude. I know this all seems kinda sketchy, but this is just how things work in Beverly Heights! Lolo is a nice, cute girl with connections and she's giving you the opportunity of a lifetime right now! If you still wanna be a big time director, I suggest to take it and run!"

Spencer nodded slightly as a smile started to form. Billy was right! He'd been wanting someone he could rely on in the strange waters of Beverly Heights, and now he had it! Spencer plastered on his confident smile again, and held his hand out for Lolo invitingly.

"Well , I would be honored. Anything I should know about the whole entourage business?"

Lolo giggled at Spencer's formal tone and leaned back a bit as she counted things off.

"Well, there's not much to it Spencer! You just have to do everything I say and never challenge me, and you'll be right as rain!"

Spencer felt a slight chill at the sinister cold glimmer in Lolo's eyes as she spoke. It sounded like being an entourage was pretty much lackey work, but if Billy thought it was a good idea…

"Oh look, it's Spencer. Hey Spencer, can you be a dear and tell your mom she put too much salt in, well, everything, honestly." A familiar female voice droned.

Spencer cringed and turned around to see it was none other that Shanilla and Rajeev, both looking down at him with upturned noses and bored expressions. Why couldn't they have stayed missing for just a little longer?

"Uh, excuse me? What are you two doing here? I thought I said I was gonna check out this place for myself?" Lolo sneered, looking over the twins with an even more powerful air of superiority than both Shanilla and Rajeev combined.

Spencer's eyes widened as the siblings quickly seemed to cower before Lolo, both hunching a bit in her presence.

"Oh my- I'm so sorry Lolo! We didn't think-"

"Obviously not!" Lolo scowled, standing up and looking down at the twins in disgust. Spencer stood as well, shocked at the sudden change in demeanor the siblings took.

"I don't know what you two are trying to do, but I suggest you hightail it out of here before...Wait." Lolo looked thoughtful for a moment before abruptly devolving into a fit of giggles. Spencer was more than confused at this point and turned to Billy, who seemed just as confused as he was. Not a good sign.

"HEHeheh! Oh! That is just-You thought-And he-And so you two-Hehehe!" Lolo gestured weakly for her bodyguard to help her remain upright, and the guard lightly secured her arm as she slowly began calming down.

"Oh my goodness! That's hilarious!" Lolo turned to Spencer and looped her arm with his, leaning against him confidently.

"Did you two really think you could trick me? Even if he was as bad as you made him out to be, he would still be one hundred times more tolerable than you two! Rajeev! Shanilla"

Rajeev, who had up to that point, decided that getting on his knees and clasping his hands in a begging position was the best course of action, stumbled into a standing position. Shanilla stood straighter and saluted army style, face pale in fright at Lolo's anger.

"Y-Yes my queen?!"

"Yessir! I-I mean yes ma'am!"

Lolo rolled her eyes and took a cautionary step away from Rajeev as if he were some disease ridden vermin. "The deal is off. Spencer is now an official member of my entourage, and that means you two, are still at the bottom of the social ladder. Do you know what that means?"

The twins looked to each other, Rajeev shrugging as Shanilla gave him a "Does this make sense to you?" expression. Lolo growled at being ignored, unintentionally squeezing Spencer's arm painfully tight as she did.

"It means, you two are staying the lowest of the low for the rest of the school year! And you know what one of the rules for the most pathetic losers are? They're not allowed at A-Lister HOUSEWARMING PARTIES!"

Shanilla and Rajeev both jumped as Lolo's voice rang painfully loud through the Cobra mansion, calling the attention of all the guests. The twins both shrank in embarrassment, Shanilla even tearing up as they both quickly made their way to the entryway door.

Spencer was in shock.

The twins had been spies for Lolo? Why was she being so mean to them? I mean, not that he was complaining, those two had been huge tools and all, but it was still really jarring. He didn't exactly enjoy seeing anyone get yelled at, even if they kinda deserved it. Billy didn't seem to share the same sentiment, blowing raspberries at the siblings retreating forms and laughing.

"Whew! I'm sorry about that Spencer! Those two are insufferable, I swear! Still, you did great. I was a little worried. You know, some of my first time entourage members saw me putting people in their place and got it into their heads that their opinion mattered too, or something!"

Billy stuffed a few cookies into his mouth as Spencer gaped at Lolo. Was she being serious? Now that he was thinking about it, maybe this gig wasn't worth it. If he had to stand by and watch Lolo "put people in their place" and just be okay with it all the time, he might as well just hand over his soul too!

Spencer wasn't stupid, he could see Lolo for who she was. He'd thought that he could just let some things slide with her, but now? There was only so much he could excuse before he became just like some of the bullies at his own school. He'd been excited about a new school and new friends because he'd wanted a fresh start. He couldn't do that if he was going to live some shallow lie!

"Okay. You know what Lolo? I can't do this." Spencer pulled away from Lolo, ignoring Billy as he gasped, then started having a coughing fit because he inhaled cookie crumbs.

"Can't? Can't do what?" Lolo frowned, crossing her arms and taking a step forward.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Billy hissed worriedly.

"I can't lie anymore!" Spencer clarified, standing straighter with resolve.

Lolo looked confused for a moment before giggling. "Oh, Spencer, I know about you being poor, I told you, I can-"

"No! I don't want you to Lolo. Look, I appreciate you letting be a part of your A list group and everything, but if that all means I have to be your lackey? I don't want it. You can keep all of that to yourself, I don't need to be an A-Lister to be a director."

Lolo's jaw dropped in shock, her bodyguard raising his eyebrow in what was either anger or respect.

"Denser! What the f-heck are you doing?! You can't seriously be turning this down for those jerks, right? This could be your big break, don't do this!" Billy urged, grabbing Spencer's shoulders pleadingly. Spencer sent Billy what he hoped looked like the face of a man on a mission, quickly turning back to Lolo as she stomped forward.

"Okay. So since I'm like, such a nice person, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of that, and I'm going to give you a second chance. Now you're going to take my arm, and then we're going to talk to your parents about enrolling you in Beverly Beverly High! You know, that school my father owns?"

Spencer clenched his fists, keeping his arms stiffly at his sides and took a step back.

"Spencer-" Billy pleaded.

"Spencer, come over here right now." Lolo growled, eyes narrowed and glinting dangerously.

Spencer pared her glare with one of his own. He wasn't backing down now.

"No. I'm not gonna play lackey for you Lolo. I'm done." Spencer turned swiftly, ignoring the offended noises both Lolo and Billy were making and marching straight to his room. He needed to be alone right now.

================================================================================================================  
"Dude! What was that?!" Billy flew after Spencer, distress and confusion written plainly across his features.

"What do you mean what was that? I should be saying that! I thought you had my back!" Spencer hissed. He stood up from Billy's bed and turned to face the spirit defiantly.

"I did until you decided to totally bail on me! You had a good thing going there and then you just-"

"That? That wasn't worth my time. I shouldn't have to sell my dignity just to make friends! I don't need-"

"If you want to be a director you do!" Billy interrupted, face scrunching in frustration. "You can't seriously think that you'll make it in this business with that attitude. Everyone has to make sacrifices if they wanna get ahead in Beverly Heights Spence, that's just science!"

"I can make sacrifices! I know things aren't easy here Billy, but I'm only willing to stoop so low."

Billy laughed sarcastically, grinning in a manner that didn't reach his eyes. "You thought that was low? You haven't seen low. I know low, and that? That was a cakewalk! You need to be willing to stoop a whole lot lower if you ever-"

"Well maybe it isn't worth it then!" Spencer shouted.

…

Billy drew back slowly, face an easy to read expression of hurt. Spencer would bet his face looked the same, though it was probably less photogenic.

"I thought we were a team…" Spencer said, finally breaking the tension filled silence.

"Yeah? Well so did I…" Billy said as he floated back, crossing his arms and frowning. "Why did you even ask for my help if all you were gonna to do was throw it back in my face?"

"Because! I just changed my mind, okay? I thought I wanted-I don't know! But I was wrong, okay? I just can't…" Spencer faltered, his thoughts fizzling out as his anger dissipated into frustration and anxiety.

"...If you had just trusted me-"

"Well I don't trust you because you're being a controlling tool box!" Spencer snapped, turning around quickly so he wouldn't have to keep looking at the hurt look on Billy's face. How was that face fair? He was the one who was being ganged up on.

"I think I trust myself a heck of a lot more than I trust you, and I have every right to! I know I asked for your advice, and I get that you don't like me just chucking it, but you can't make me do what you want either!"

Billy's face hardened and he bristled at Spencer's words. "I'm so not! Listen, I'm just trying to help you Spence, it's not my fault you can't get with the program!"

Spencer bit his lip to keep from saying something he'd regret. He could feel everything starting to fall apart, and he was just so frustrated, he knew he was seconds away from ruining everything. He sighed and sat on Billy's race car bed, keeping his back to Billy in some vain attempt to block out the tension in the room.

"...Just go away..."

"What?! Duder, look, I'm not trying to be mean, I just…" Billy trailed off, the hunched form of his friend making him look so much smaller than usual. Billy felt the knots on his stomach tighten uncomfortably. This wasn't going well, was it? He hadn't meant for things to go this way! He'd just been trying to help, that wasn't wrong, was it?

"..."

"...Spencer?"

"..."

"Dude, please don't give me the silent treatment..." Billy pleaded softly, a feeling of dread creeping into his voice. He knew Spencer could hear him, he'd promised he wouldn't take the necklace off. He promised.

"..."

"Seriously, cut it out!" Billy demanded. Spencer knew how he felt about being ignored! Why was he doing this? He was trying to help!

"..." Spencer slumped onto his side on the bed, still remaining turned away from the ghost and curling in on himself.

Billy felt his emotions struggling to choose between fear of isolation and anger over how unfair Spencer was being! He decided on the one that hurt less.

"FINE! Just ignore me, see if I care! I'm used to it anyway." Billy ground out, teeth gritted together as he quickly phased through the floor and as far away from Spencer as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this the end of Billy and Spencer's friendship? What will happen next? Is this housewarming party a total bust? Find out next chapter! And please feel free to pm me any cool head cannons or ideas you might have! I'd love to hear from any of you and I'm always open to critique and and feedback!


	15. Fifteenth Episode! What Makes A Friend?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam used one hand to run through his hair triedly, looking over the ghost in thinly veiled despair. “You can’t keep acting like this B-Scales. I won’t be here forever and I don’t think I’ll be able to rest in peace if I know you’re all alone.”
> 
> Billy shrunk back in Adams hold, frowning in confusion. “What are you trying to say A-Man?”

Billy flew as fast as he could, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from bawling like a baby. What?! He was a sensitive guy, and fighting with people always ended up making him cry!

“He-he didn’t even _look_ at me!” Billy whimpered, zooming over to the buffet table and diving into the cookies and cupcakes. 

He needed his comfort food before he broke down like a diva without an entourage, which was what he was, technically. As Billy stuffed snickerdoodle after snickerdoodle into his mouth, he couldn’t help but feel something akin to guilt bubbling up from his gut. Was he in the wrong? Spencer had looked really sad, and Billy couldn’t help but worry it really was his fault.

 _“Nuh-Uh!”_ Billy shook is head stubbornly and swallowed. 

No! No way was this his fault! Spencer had asked him for help getting friends and looking cool! He’d done that and then some! Why should he feel guilty just because Spencer suddenly got cold feet?

“If anything, he should apologize to _me_ for wasting my time! People’d pay thousands for my advice!” Billy ranted, shoving a cupcake into his mouth and huffing in frustration.

_“Who does he think he is?!”_

_“I know!”_ Billy flailed his hands in agreement, then froze. “Wait…”

Billy looked around and his eyes landed on a very angry looking Lolo, who also seemed to be trying to eat her way out of anger, biting down on cookie after cookie like they were the heads of her enemies. Billy mirrored her expresion and shoved another cookie into his mouth, ignoring the looks of those who caught sight of the disappearing confections.

“Billy? Why are you sitting on the cupcakes?” 

Billy shot up and spun around to face Adam, who was looking over Billy worriedly. The ghost hiccuped at the sight of his friend and tackled him, burying his face into his chest and barely holding back tears. Adam had a nice suit on, and he didn’t want to ruin it by turning it into a monster.

“Wai-What? _Billy_ , what did you do?” Adam admonished, pulling Billy away from him and looking over him more critically.

“ _Me?_ I didn’t do _anything_! How do you even know-”

“I’ve seen you like this before and it _always_ means you’ve gotten into trouble. Just-Lets go. Stress eating never helps.” Adam looked around at the other party goers and quickly led Billy away to his recording studio for some privacy. 

Billy pouted and took another cookie as Adam pushed him into his studio, slumping into the recording chair and glaring at his friend. Why did Adam always have to be right? Adam closed the door behind him, then pulled another chair over to Billy and sat down.

“So, what did you do to make Spencer angry?”

Billy choked on his cookie and coughed it out, then looked up at Adam in horror.

“ _How-?_ Where you _spying_ on me?” He gasped, clutching his chest dramatically.

Adam roll his eyes and scooted closer to Billy. “You only get all weepy and stress eat if someone yells at you, and since Spencer and you are usually joined at the hip, the fact that he isn’t the one comforting you means he was the one who yelled at you. I know Spencer’s a smart kid, so I can rightly assume you are the one at fault.”

Billy scowled and crossed his arms. “You don’t know that! Spence’s at fault, _not_ me.”

Adam leaned back and crossed his arms, mirroring Billy’s position with a calm air. “Really. Well, prove me wrong. Tell me what happened.”

Billy slouched and took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Okay, so, you remember when Spencer was hanging out with those Buttwatti kids and I was giving him tips on how to be cooler?”

Adam nodded, crossing his legs and getting more comfortable.

“Well, my advice worked! Spencer met this really cute honey named Lolo and they were really jammin together. She even stood up for him when the terrible twosome reared their ugly heads and tried to start trouble.”

Adam raised his eyebrows and leaned forward. “So you and Spencer fought because everything was going really well?”

Billy waved his hand dismissively and scoffed. “What? No. We fought because Spencer suddenly decided that he was too good to be a part of Lolo’s entourage! He got all high and mighty and totally dumped her! She was his ticket to fame and he _ruined_ it!”

Adam smiled as Billy ranted, only serving to make Billy even more frustrated. “Why are you smiling?! This is a disaster! And now, Spencer’s angry at _me_ because I tried to change his mind!”

Adam leaned back again and uncrossed his legs, looking over Billy and his flustered demeanor with an unimpressed smile.

“You really want to know?” Adam asked.

Billy gritted his teeth and dug his nails into the chair arms. “ _Sure_. I’d _love_ to know why you think this is funny. Lay it on me Adam Bomb, I’m sure I’ll find it as amusing as you do!”

Adam smiled wider. “I’m smiling because I get to see you make the same mistakes you made seven years ago with someone else, and that someone else actually has the guts to call you out on it! 

Adam leaned forward, smile not quite reaching his eyes as he continued. “You really _haven’t_ changed after all this time Billy. Still as stubborn and narrow minded as ever.”

Billy seethed and shot forward, getting right up in Adams face and gripping Adams collar angrily. “ **How can you _say_ that?!** I thought you were my friend! Why are you taking _his_ side?!”

Adam glared right back for a moment, then sighed and pulled Billy into a hug, much to the ghosts surprise. “Billy, did you ever get another Adam after I left? Can you even remember?”

Billy froze, then slumped into Adams hug as he thought. He didn’t really remember having anyone else like Adam around after he left. He’d had his entourage, and they were pretty fun but…

Adam gave Billy another squeeze, then pulled him away to look him in the eyes. “Billy, do you know how long you’ll be sticking around like this? Because I don’t, and that _terrifies_ me. 

Adam used one hand to run through his hair triedly, looking over the ghost in thinly veiled despair. “You _can’t_ keep acting like this B-Scales. I won’t be here forever and I don’t think I’ll be able to rest in peace if I know you’re all alone.”

Billy shrunk back in Adams hold, frowning in confusion. “What are you trying to say A-Man?”

Adam frowned and pulled Billy closer. “I’m _saying_ you need to change Billy. You’re so desperate to _control_ and be _better_ than and if you keep it up, you’re going to be all alone again! I promise I’ll stick around because I’m used to you, but without all that money and fame, I might be the only one!”

Adam squeezed Billy’s arms even harder to emphasize his point. “Things are different now and you need to learn to make _new, real_ , long lasting friends! Prioritize for god's sake! Is your pride _really_ worth losing Spencer?”

Billy pulled away, shuddering as the memory of his three year isolation creeped into his thoughts. All alone, no one to hear him, no one who cared.

“I-I don’t…” Billy faltered as he was suddenly overcome with the guilt again, along with something else. Fear. 

He didn’t know how long he was gonna be stuck like this. Maybe a few more years, maybe a hundred, maybe _forever_. The thought of lingering around while everyone ignored him, dismissed him, _forgot him_ , left Billy with watery eyes and shaking hands. No. He didn’t want to be alone.

Billy took a shaky breath and wrapped his hands around his middle in an attempt to calm himself down. “No... No, it isn’t worth it. I-I’m sorry…”

Adam sighed, rubbing his face and standing up to he could wrap Billy in a hug again. Billy hugged back for a moment, then pushed Adam away to he could wipe his eyes. 

“S-So, how do I make this right? I know I messed up but...I’m _not_ trying to be a jerk, I swear, but a little lawyer analysis of my sins would be nice. I don’t wanna mess up again…”

Adam smiled and took a step back so Billy could collect himself. “Well, first off, you’ll probably mess up again. Not trying to be a downer, but these things happen. You trying to fix things is what makes or breaks it though.”

Adam sat down as Billy settled onto the opposite chair tiredly and nodded. “Your problem’s simple enough BJC, you gave Spencer bad advice. Or, well technically, you gave him _good_ advice, but for the wrong reasons.”

Billy frowned in confusion. ”Okay, I’m lost.”

Adam smiled and raised his hands defensively. “Give me a second, it’ll make sense! Okay, so Spencer asked you to help him _pretend_ to be like you, right? He pretty much asked you to help him lie Billy. The whole thing was doomed to fail, either because you got caught, or because Spencer just wanted to stop lying.”

Billy nodded in understand, still frowning. “ _Soooo_...I shouldn’t have helped him?”

Adam shook his head. “No, you did fine helping him. What you messed up on was not supporting him when he changed his mind. “

Adam sighed, eyes wandering adly around the room for a moment. “Billy, Spencer needs a friend right now. Not a mentor, not a manager, not a millionaire's daughter. He needs Billy, not The Cobra.”

Billy nodded again, rubbing his arm in embarrassment. Hearing Adam lay everything out so plainly was kinda humiliating, especially now that it all seemed so obvious. Why was he so God awful at being a good friend?

“ _Yeah_...I guess I just wanted to be more useful to him, and giving advice seemed to be what worked.”

Adam chuckled, causing Billy to pout at him and blush. ”It’s good to hear you want to be useful, but I think what Spencer really appreciated about you giving him advice was your _support_. If you want to be a friend worth needing, just be there for him.”

Billy rested his chin in his palm, looking hopeful but worried. “Really? And you think he’ll be cool with just that?”

Billy smiled bitterly and looked down through his arm. He was used to seeing through himself by now, but a small part of him wanted to still be surprised, or disturbed. It wasn’t natural, and he never wanted it to be. “I mean, I’m kinda invisible and not really alive and I’m _pretty_ sure those are both things that good friends are supposed to be.”

Adam smiled sadly at Billy’s response. The Billy he remembered never worried about being good enough, and despite the drawbacks of his friends anxiousness, it was almost refreshing to see him slightly more reserved. Still, without the money, the fame, and the-... _less_ than desirable people to buffer, it seemed Billy didn’t see himself as having much to offer anymore. 

It honestly saddened Adam to see his friend so unsure about his self worth. It seemed Billy had traded in abject narcissism for some deep seated depression, and Adam honestly couldn’t decided what was worse. He silently cursed the three years Billy had to spend in isolation, and hoped to high heaven that he could salvage what was left of him. He refused to give up on Billy, he just hoped Spencer wouldn’t either.

Adam shrugged goodnaturedly, simultaneously shrugging off his more heavy thoughts as well. “If there’s one thing I can say with experience, it’s that supporting your friends no matter what was one of your best qualities. It didn’t matter what I did or why I did it, you always did everything you could to get me out of trouble and you _never_ doubted me. It meant the world to me.”

Billy beamed and leaned forward eagerly. “ _Really?!_ Aww, Addendum that’s _so sweet!_ ”

Billy thought about Adams words for a moment, them let a genuine smiled grace his features at last. “You know what? _You’re right!_ I need to go apologize to Spencer!”

Billy flew off his chair and puffed out his chest. “I gonna make this right! Spencer better get ready, cause I’m about to apologize the _heck_ outta him!” 

Billy went to fly out of the room but stopped to pull Adam into an almost crushing hug. “Thanks Adam! You’re the best!”

Before Adam could respond, Billy was already phasing out the door. Adam sat in silence for a moment, then smiled and stood up to go back to monitoring the party. Hopefully, he’d be able to rest easy knowing Billy wasn’t going to end the night alone.  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spencer had a headache. He always got one after fighting, and this time was no exception. 

Why couldn’t he just bury his conscience and put out like Billy had told him to? It wasn’t like Lolo was a nightmare to hang out with like the twins. She was cute, nice, and helpful! Why Spencer? Why are you like this?

“Thanks for the moral support brain, nice use of RAM.” Spencer mumbled, rolling onto his back and sighing long and loud.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and just sleep through the rest of the party, he heard a soft knock on his elevator door. Spencer sighed again (He was getting really good at it too) and sat up. It was probably his mom or Hugh checking up on him after his not so subtle outburst. Maybe even Jessica if she was feeling especially empathetic.

The possibility that it might be Billy crossed his mind, but Billy wasn’t one to knock. He was more likely to burst through the floor. Spencer got up and went to the elevator, then stopped in his tracks when he saw who was on the other side of the grate doors.

“ _Shanilla? Rajeev_? What are you two doing here? Didn’t Lolo banish you or something?” Spencer took a few steps back as the twins meekly stepped out from the elevator, both looking as nervous as he felt.

Shanilla stepped forward first, looking almost nothing like she had the first time they met. Her eyes weren’t cold, and she wasn’t looking down at him, instead she just looked...normal.

“Um, well, Rajeev and I, we-we wanted to talk. You see Spencer, Rajeev left his phone, so when we came back to get it, we saw what you said to Lolo.”

Spencer winced, crossing his arms defensively. ”So what? Are you gonna try to tell me off for her? Well you can tell Lolo I’m not sorry, I would do it again if I had the chance.”

Rajeev stepped forward next and shook his head. “No man! We aren’t here to fight! We just wanted to say…Uh...” 

Rajeev trailed off, then looked over to his sister searchingly. Shanilla rolled her eyes and nudged him to the side.

“We just wanted to say we’re sorry. You didn’t deserve to be treated the way we treated you Spencer, no matter what motives we had. Can you forgive us?”

Spencer opened his mouth to try and respond, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. He hadn’t been expecting this at all! Now that he was really looking at them, their demeanor and everything about them seemed to be completely different. They honestly looked a million times more approachable then when he’d first met them.

_‘What if they’re just trying to trick you? This could be another act!’_

Spencer clenched his fist and was about to voice his thoughts when his eyes caught sight of one of Billy’s Billy dolls. He’d positioned the Billy doll so it looked like it was being attacked by one of his zombie figurines, and it had made Billy furious. To get back at him, Billy had bedazzled a pair of Spencer’s jeans with more sequins and glitter then Spencer had ever seen on one item of clothing. They’d decided it was a draw.

That had been just this morning. Now, he wasn’t sure if Billy would ever talk to him again.

_‘Maybe pushing these guys away isn’t the best idea,’_

Shanilla worried her lip and shrank back at his prolonged silence. “Spencer? Look, I know we were total jerks to you, but we want to make it up to you! Right Rajeev?”

Rajeev jolted at his name being called and nodded eagerly. “Yeah! We might not be the most popular kids in Beverly Heights, but we’ve been around here for a while! We could show you around and stuff!”

“And! If you _do_ decided to go to Beverly Beverly High, we could help you navigate the school! Being the new kid isn’t very easy to do alone, but we could help!” Shanilla piped up.

Spencer couldn’t help but smile as the twins both kept tossing out ways they could make it up to him. It was endearing, he’d give them that.

“-could do your chores or-”

“Okay okay! I get it, you guys don’t need to do any of that stuff. The apology was enough.” Spencer said, holding his hands up placatingly.

The twins both sighed in relief, Rajeev smiling and rubbing his neck nervously. “Well _that’s_ a relief! I don’t know if could actually go through with half the stuff I said!”

Shanilla elbowed Rajeev in reprimand, giving Spencer an apologetic smile. “He probably means that, but all _my_ offers still stand.”

Spencer smiled back, then looked around his room and blushed at how messy it was. They were guests, wasn't he supposed to be offering them refreshments or something?

“Er, uh, do-do you two want to sit down? Here! I have a couch!” Spencer hearded the siblings over to his couch and quickly threw his bedazzled disaster pants off them, sweeping the excess glitter from one other seats hastily.

The siblings both sat down, Rajeev looking over at the glitter bomb pants in interest.

“Are those _yours_?” He asked, and Spencer cringed. Oh great! Now that we're going to make fun of him for-

“They’re _so cool_! Where did you get them? I’ve never seen this brand before!” Rajeev held the pants up like they were some top of the line designer jeans.

Spencer blanked for a moment, then relaxed. “Uh, actually, my friend just covered those in glitter and sequins as a prank. I don’t think I’ll be able to get it all off, so you can have them if you want…”

Rajeev squealed like a little girl who got a pony and hugged the jeans to his chest, causing a small plume of glitter to rise from them. Spencer laughed in a mix of relief and confusion at the sight of him hugging the glittery jeans. These guys were being serious, weren’t they? They were actually...nice? 

Spencer turned to Shanilla and frowned, crossing his arms. He wanted answers, “So, you were sent here to spy on me? Why?”

Shanilla pursed her lips and nodded. “Well, you can probably tell, but Rajeev and I aren’t very popular.” Shanilla gestures to Rajeev as he attempted to pull the glitter jeans on over his own.

“In fact, we’re at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to status _and_ wealth. We’ve been trying to gain some sort of higher status for years now, but so far we’ve been largely unsuccessful. That’s why our parents were so eager to befriend yours Spencer, our family is largely ostracized outside of public events and your parents don’t have that prejudice yet.”

Spencer frowned at the thought of the Bugwatti's nice parents being left out of things and shunned. They were so nice, they didn’t deserve that.

“When Holly Wood reported that a new family was moving into the Cobra mansion, Lolo told us that if the new kids were bigger losers than us, she’d move us up on to the A-List. She probably didn’t really mean it, but we were desperate, so Rajeev and I came to your house to see for ourselves.” Shanila continued, ignoring her brother as he tripped over a sparkly pant leg and feel on his face.

“When we saw how cool you were, we knew Lolo and the other A-Listers would love you, so we tried to bully you into submission. Obviously it didn’t work...The rest is history.”

Spencer crossed his arms as he thought. So this was all Lolo’s fault? He didn’t have a hard time believing that, but that fact still remained that the twins had chosen to be jerks to him. Still, they were trying to make amends….

“Look, I’m gonna be honest. I don’t really trust you two enough to really be one hundred percent into being friends or anything. I appreciate you apologizing, but I’m gonna need some time…”

Rajeev got up from the floor, now covered head to toe in a light smattering of glitter, and looked over to his sister. Shanilla looked back at Rajeev, then they both looked back at Spencer.

“We’ll wait.” Shanilla said, smiling confidently at Spencer

“Yeah, I’m like a successful doctor! I have a lot of _patience_!” Rajeev joked, looking back and forth between an unimpressed Shanila and a baffled Spencer eagerly.

When the joke clicked, Spencer burst out laughing, holding his stomach and falling off the couch. Rajeev looked back at Shanilla proudly and sat up straighter in defiance. 

“ _See? He_ likes my sense of humor!” Rajeev taunted, snickering and holding his hands up as Shanilla playfully smacked his arm.

Spencer gasped and pulled himself back onto the couch, still giggling at the ridiculous joke Rajeev had made. It wasn’t even that funny, he didn’t know why he was laughing so hard. Whatever the reason, he’d needed it.

“Hehe... _Okay_.” Spencer paused as his stomach growled, and he remembered all the delicious food his mom had slaved away on still downstairs on the buffet table. 

Spencer smiled at Shanilla and Rajeev and stood up. "Hey, you guys wanna go and get some snacks? Technically, this isn’t an A-Lister party anymore, so you're allowed to be here again. Also, that was a dumb rule so I’m ignoring it on principal.”

“Sure! Your mom's deviled eggs are the best!” Rajeev said, finally wearing the sparkle jeans properly and running over to the elevator.

“She really _is_ a good cook. I’m sorry about what I said about her food earlier Spencer, she didn’t over salt anything.” Shanilla apologized as they made their way to the elevator.

Spencer gave Shanilla a grateful smile and pressed the button to go down. He was nervous about the twins still, but he wouldn’t deny he could already see himself being good friends with them. He just didn’t want to get his hopes up yet.

After the elevator opened, the three teens waded through party guests towards the buffet table eagerly, only to all stop in their tracks at what they found.

“Lolo? Why are you still here?” Spencer blurted out. 

He’d thought that Lolo wouldn’t want anything to do with the housewarming party after their argument, but there she was, eating chocolate chip cookies and punch like they were fancy cheeses instead of homemade pastries.

“Oh? Well I’m still invited aren’t I? It’s a housewarming part after all, the whole _neighborhood_ was invited, even the _lowest_ of the low.” Lolo sneered, looking down at the Bugwatti twins with thinly veiled disgust.

Spencer stood in front of the twins, arms akimbo as he scowled at Lolo assertively. He wasn’t letting her talk down to the siblings while he was around. Not in his house!

“Leave them alone Lolo! It’s _my_ house, _my_ party, and I say their fine.” Spencer bit out, making sure to speak clearly and confidently. 

Billy had told him a few days ago “If you want people to listen to you, you gotta speak with purpose! Talk to them like they’re a naughty kid who needs to learn some manners. Always worked for me.”

Lolo’s eye twitched with barely restrained anger and she suddenly smiled, handing her bodyguard her punch and cookie and standing up. 

“Well! That’s big talk from a _poor loser_ from the ghetto, isn’t it? But I guess I can’t expect any more from you, can I Spencer? The manners and _class_ that come from wealth you _actually earn_ would be hard to grasp for you, huh?”

Spencer blushed despite himself, looking around as various party goers and even some members of the neighborhood committee looked over at him and Lolo in interest. They weren't even being discreet about it, especially Kathy Chats and Nancy Negato, who were whispering amongst themselves while stealing glances at the scene. So much for tact. 

Spencer gritted his teeth and took a step forward in hopes of staring down Lolo past his embarrassment. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?! Between the both of us, I think _I_ would know more about _earning_ than you ever would Lolo. Just because your dad makes money doesn't mean you’ve _earned_ anything!” 

“Yeah!” Rajeev encouraged as he and Shanilla went to stand by Spencer’s side. Before Spencer could really stop to appreciate the gesture, Lolo rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers for her bodyguard. 

“Adrian, my punch please?” Adrian nodded and handed her her cup, then Lolo walked right up to Spencer.

“Look Denser, I know this might be hard for you understand, but there’s a difference between people like _me_ and the rest of the high class people here, and people like _you_ and the loser twins. You wanna know what it is?”

Spencer crossed his arms and leveled Lolo with a glare. “ _Sure_ , make my day.”

Lolo lifted her cup a bit and smirked. “The difference is that I’m _me_ and you’re _you_.”

She took another confident step forward, Spencer unconsciously taking a step back. 

“People follow me because I’m someone _worth_ following, they come to me when they need favors. And you? You’re a follower on his _last_ defiant leg. Eventually, you’ll come to me begging for forgiveness, and you know what? I’ll forgive!” Lolo admitted, taking a dainty sip from her cup.

At this point the entire party was deathly silent, the only sounds coming from Lolo and Spencer. Spencer was vaguely aware that his family was probably somewhere else, probably hanging out with the twins parents or talking with other guests. For once, he was starting to wish he’d stuck with Jessica. At least she wouldn’t’ve had a problem decking Lolo or something.

Lolo called back his attention by continuing. “Because people like _me_? People _born_ to lead? They can always use more followers, like _you_ Spencer.”

Spencer looked back at Shanilla and Rajeev as they both seemed to shrink back at Lolo’s harsh words. He could see it now, the effects of what was probably years of this type of verbal of abuse and Spencer clenched his fists. She could say what she wanted to excuse her behavior but this was just wrong!

Spencer took a defiant step forward. “Well, if you’re going to use fear and bribery to get what you want? Then expect to have a following of _cowards_ Lolo, cause those are the only kind of people who follow people like _you_. So yeah, have fun _paying_ for your friends.”

Lolo gasped and almost crushed her cup, her face turning a concerning red color, either from shame or anger. Probably both. Lolo abruptly pulled her drink hand back and threw her drink right at Spencer’s face.

“ _ **Ack!**_ ” Spencer held his hands up and closed his eyes for impact.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy flew into Spencer room, pushing down the slowly growing anxiety in his stomach as he mentally prepared himself for the coming apology. He could do this! Just be supportive and say you’re really really sorry! Easy as pie!

He looked around the room and frowned when he saw no sign of Spencer. Where was he? He’d been here just an hour ago!

“Spencer? Hey Spencer, I get if you don’t wanna talk right now, but can you at least give me a sign so I know you’re still in here?” Billy called out, looking into the bathroom, then zooming over to the couch. 

He looked over the couch and noticed his revenge pants were gone. Had Spencer thrown them out? He couldn’t blame him, he’d done a pretty thorough job of decimating them with more sequins and glitter then he’d ever thought possible to attach to a single piece of clothing. He’d been kind of proud of it.

Billy shook his head and frowned. “Focus Cobra! Gotta find Spencer!”

Billy froze as the sound of Spencer’s voice echoed faintly up to his room. Had Spencer gone back down to the party? Now that Billy was listening, the party had gotten a lot quieter too. And why was he yelling?

“Better check this out…” Billy mumbled as he phased through the floor. He passed a more energetic room where Spencer’s mom and dad seemed to be having fun talking with some guests and Jessica was giggling with another girl her age about some boys in a magazine. 

“Not here…”

Billy’s eyes landed on a particularly hunky teen heartthrob in Jessica’s magazine and grinned.

“Oooh! He’s cute! Wait! Focus Cobra! You can read Teen Mag later!” 

Billy jumped as he heard the faint sound of Spencer's voice again. It was coming from the buffet room! Billy quickly flew towards the sound of his friends voice, frowning as the angry tone of Spencer’s voice reached him.

“-expect to have a following of _cowards_ Lolo, cause those are the only kind of people who follow people like _you_. So yeah, have fun _paying_ for your friends.”

Billy froze mid flight as he took in the tension filled air in the buffet room. Spencer seemed to be in a really serious fight with Lolo, and the twins were actually on Spencer’s side! Or were they just watching? Considering that all eyes were on the Lolo and Spencer, the difference between onlookers and participants was vague.

Before Billy could call out, Lolo gasped and flushed, her grip tightening on her drink dangerously. Billy knew that look. He’d worn that look before and he definitely knew what came next. It was never pretty.

Billy was flying forward before he even registered what he was doing, getting right in front of Spencer as Lolo threw her drink and closing his eyes.

“ _ **Ack!**_ ” Billy winced at the combination of Spencer’s cry and the feeling of cold punch splashing his face and his shirt. 

“ _Raspberry?_ **_Gross_**!” Billy wined.

He quickly phased the drink off him and onto the floor, turning around to look over Spencer for any punch stains. Raspberry red stained like a curse and was nearly impossible to get out. Billy would know, he’d tried and failed many times. 

“What?! How did you do that?” Lolo gasped, taking a confused step away from Spencer and looking to her bodyguard for confirmation that what she’d seen was real.

Spencer finally opened his eyes and lowered his arms, smiling when his eyes landed on the ghost checking him over. “Billy? What-”

“Not now Spendragon! People are watching! Just let me take care of New Low over there, okay?” Billy smiled back, giving Spencer's shoulder a comforting squeeze, then turning to Lolo with mischief in his eyes.

Spencer looked around at all the surprised looking spectators, then back at Billy and nodded. He didn’t want all his neighbors or the neighborhood committee thinking he was a crazy person. The invisible force saving him from Lolo’s drink was already pushing it.

“What did you do?! Is this some sort of joke? What was that?!” Lolo ranted, looking around Spencer for some sign of hidden intervention.

Billy snickered at Lolo’s befuddled expression, then noticed from the corner of his eye the jeans Rajeev were wearing. Those were his disaster pants! The eye catching glitter sparkled as Rajeev went to inspect the area Billy had just been occupying for some sign of a glass wall or the like. He looked a strange mixture of trend breakingly fabulous and ridiculous.

“Just the kind of style Lolo could use right about now!” He exclaimed, eyes brightening as a brilliant idea came to mind.

Billy turned to Spencer with an almost scary fire in his eyes. “Spence! When I give the signal, turn on the fans!” 

Spencer jumped in surprise, then nodded and ran to the fan switch on the other side of the room. Lolo spluttered as Spencer seemed to completely ignore her in favor of running away.

“Hey! Where are you- _ **Ack!**_ ”

Billy started throwing cupcakes and cookies at Lolo and her bodyguard, slowly herding the baffled and overwhelmed duo away from the buffet table to the opposite side of the room. 

“Wha-What is _going on?!_ ” Lolo cried out as she and Adrian stumbled away from the sweet assault. They both seemed completely unaware that they were slowly being pushed back towards an empty space right under a very special ceiling fan.

Billy halted his assault and flew over to the nearby air conditioner witch was currently blowing out a soft stream of bubbles. The ghost shoved his hand into the gears of his bubble maker(in the same way he’d done before on accident) and quickly yanked it out as the device sputtered and began shooting out a torrent of foamy, wet suds directly at Lolo and her guard

Lolo stumbled back and covered her face as the bubbles soaked her down, her bodyguard trying in vain to protect her from the iridescent popping menaces. 

_**“AIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!”** _

Billy plugged his ghostly ears and cringed at Lolo’s ear piercing screech, then turned to a entertained looking Spencer and flailed his hands wildly. _“NOW! Do it now!”_

Spencer nodded, then flicked up the switch to the ceiling fan. As he did, Spencer’s parents and little sister ran into the room, all looking confused and worried. Probably because of the cries of horror coming Lolo.

“Spencer?! What’s….” Spencer’s mom trailed off as thick streams of multi colored glitter began falling down on Lolo, her bodyguard, and anyone else unfortunate enough to be nearby the ceiling fan of unintentional bedazzlement.

Slowly, all the party goers began laughing at Lolo and her lackey, some covering their mouths, others openly pointing and even falling over. Even Rajeev and Shanilla were chuckling and snickering with abandon. Billy smiled, happy his plan had actually worked and drawn out the appropriate response.

“Oh! Oh my-Haha! Oh my _goodness!_ ” Jane started giggling along with her husband and the other party guests as Lolo’s transformation was completed.

“I like to think of it as a rich person's version of tar and feathering. The _Bubble and Glittering!_ ” Billy boasted to a giggling Spencer as he flew up to him. 

_**“SPEEEEENCEERRRRRRR!”** _

Billy and Spencer both froze as Lolo slowly advanced towards them. She was dripping with bubbles and glittering like an especially colorful disco ball on every inch of her body. Despite all the colors, she looked anything but festive. She walked right up to Spencer, nose to glittery bubble soaked nose and jabbed his jest with a sparkly manicured nail.

_**“YOU! YOU DID THIS YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE-”** _

“ _Hey!_ ” Spencer and Lolo froze as Jessica stomped forward and roughly pushed Spencer away from Lolo. 

“Listen twinkle toes! _You_ don’t get to talk to my brother like that! The only one allowed to bully my brother is _**me!**_ ” Spencer’s sister jabbed her finger into Lolo’s glitter crusted chest with every word, slowly pushing her backward into her bodyguards chest.

Lolo huffed and tried to snap her fingers, but the glitter and soapy water rendered her silent.

“ _Adrian!_ Take care of them!” Lolo screeched, pointing at the Jessica and Spencer with pure hatred in her eyes. 

Jessica rolled her eyes as Spencer and Billy backed up. His sister cracked her knuckles and after some very family friendly violence, had Adrian in a sleeper hold. Billy smiled at Jessica, even as he hid behind Spencer. She was a pretty cool brodette, he’d give her that.

“Now are we gonna have any more problems? Or do I have to get _serious?_ ” Jessica hissed to Lolo, pulling Adrians arm back and making the man whimper.

Lolo paled and shook her head, accidentally spraying nearby party goers with wet glitter. Jessica smirked and calmly released a winded and terrified looking Adrian. She turned to Spencer and crossed her arms.

“Stop pranking the party guests Spencer! You interrupted me and Ariel Hassel. _Jeez_ , you’re so annoying…” Jessica stomped off, smiling as she meet up with another girl and left the room.

“You’re sister is _such_ a mixed bag, dude…” Billy said as he watched Jessica go.

Spencer snorted and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. “She’s _fine_. That was her way of saying she cares.”

Billy raised his eyebrows in confusion, then shrugged. He didn’t have siblings, so what would he know?

“Listen up Spencer.” Lolo seethed, still slightly nervous after Jessica’s terrifying show of force. “ _This isn’t over_. Let’s _go_ Adrian!” Lolo failed to snap her fingers again, then huffed and stomped out the room.

Billy watched Lolo go with a small sigh. He didn’t regret getting rid of her, but he still couldn’t help but internally mourn all the opportunities she could have presented for Spencer. She’d probably have a grudge now too, so that was a bummer.

“ _Spencer Wright!_ ” Spencer winced and slowly turned to face his very unhappy looking parents. His mom was pursing her lips in a very worrying manner while Hugh had crossed his arms and put on his most I-mean-business frown in his arsenal.

Jane walked over to Spencer and pulled him away from Billy to the Freaky Tiki room. “You have a lot of explaining to do young man! What _was_ all that? Why did you make that nice girl leave?”

Billy followed after Spencer and his parents, blinking in surprise as the Bugwatti kids passed him on their way to the Freaky Tiki room as well. What were they planning on doing? Billy sped up and clenched his teeth in determination. He wouldn’t let those two mess with Spencer while he was still around!

Spencer bit his lip and looked down at his shoes nervously. “Uh, well, I wasn’t actually planning on doing any of that. You know, with the glitter and the bubbles. It was just-well she-”

“It was our fault! We jammed the bubble maker and tricked Spencer into helping us pour glitter on Lolo!”

Spencer gasped as the Bigwatti twins both burst into the room, Shanille seeming to be taking the lead while Rajeev slumped forward and took a few seconds to catch his breath. 

Billy phased through the door just as Shanilla and Rajeez stepped in front of Spencer, raising his eyebrows at the protective display. He wasn’t sure what was going on right now, but watching and waiting seemed to be the best option. Billy kept himself half phased through the door just in case, and crossed his arms.

“So you’re telling me you put rainbow glitter on our ceiling fan blades without being caught, somehow figured out how to jam our bubble makers, and convinced my son to take part in your prank, all within the first two hours of our party?” Hugh asked.

Shanilla and Rajeev stiffened and looked at each other, then looked back at Hugh and nodded mutley. Hugh uncrossed his arms to place them on his hips and leaned forward to squint critically at the siblings. Shanilla’s eyes twitched in a vain attempt to not blink and Rajeev started to sweat profusely.

“ _Hmmmmmm_ …..Well okay! Honestly, I’m just happy Spencer’s made such interesting friends! You three seem pretty close, isn’t that right Honey?” Hugh enthused, tuning to his wife excitedly.

Jane smiled at her husband, then turned back to Spencer and the twins with a more serious stare. “While I’m happy to see you three getting along, I’d appreciate it if you kept the pranks to a minimum, especially if they might upset someone! That Lolo girl seemed very unamused with it. As punishment for all _three_ of you, you’ll be cleaning up the after party mess.”

Spencer and the twins slumped in relief, then nodded as Jane spoke. Jane smiled at the teens and leaned back. “Alright then! You kids enjoy the party and I’ll tell you two’s parents you’ll be staying after for some clean up! Be good okay?”

“We will be! Thanks mom!” Spencer said, smiling at Rajeev and Shanilla in appreciation as his parents left the Freaky Tiki room to mingle once more.

“ _Oh my goodness!_ That was so nerve racking. I’ve never lied to authority before!” Shanilla fretted.

“Maybe we should do it more often, we’re really good at it! Especially _me_ , but that’s just cause I’m a natural born actor!” Rajeev boasted to Spencer, puffing out his chest.

Spencer didn’t bother correcting Rajeev or reminding him that all he did was sweat, instead, he pulled the siblings into a short, crushing hug. Shanilla blushed while Rajeev squawked like a strangled bird.

“ _Thankyouthankyouthankyou!_ I was _so_ sure my parents were gonna ground me for life! You guys really came through.” Spencer said as he pulled away from the hug.

“Yeah, well, the only reason you even got in a fight with Lolo was at least partially because you were standing up for my brother and I. We just wanted to return the favor,” Shanilla said, trying to hide the flush in her cheeks.

“Well, I really appreciate it guys. Really! That was super cool of you.” Spencer praised.

Rajeev seemed to beam with pride and Shanilla was blushing for some odd reason that Spencer was too happy to look into. Things were going well! Lolo was out, the twins were _definitely_ in, and Billy was-

“Wait, where’s-?” Spencer cut himself off, remembering he had company, and spun around, looking for his phantom friend. 

He’d been following him to the Freaky Tiki room, he’d been sure-But maybe-

“Uh, Spencer?” Shanilla asked, tapping his shoulder in concern. “What’s up? You look lost-”

“Speaking of being confused, how did you do that thing with the punch and the not getting wet? Are you a magician or something?” Rajeev interrupted, stepping in front of Spencer curiously.

Sencer suddenly felt overwhelmed and anxious all at once. Billy was gone and now he was getting grilled, what was he gonna do?! He looked around absently, trying to think up some kind of explanation for Billy’s punch protecting stunt that would make sense for a sixteen year old to have. 

He didn’t think magician fit, it just wasn’t him, and he refused to back up that lie with top hats and colorful handkerchiefs. He wanted to retain _some_ dignity when all was said and done! As Spencer looked around the Freaky Tiki room, he idly thought about how cool it would be to use this room for some kind of haunted islander set, maybe use some special effects to-

“Uh! Act-actually! What you two saw out there was...special effects! I-I want to be a director so, gotta get those special effects down. You know how it is!”

The twins looked at each other, then back at Spencer, both with awe sparkling in their eyes.

“My parents work with some special effects people on set sometimes! They always look so cool!” Shanilla gushed.

“Yeah! Some of my fave actors use all kinds of crazy special effects! I actually wanted to learn more about it. You know, if I want to be an actor, I have to learn the lay of the land!” Rajeev boasted excitedly.

Spencer smiled and silently thanked the God of Ghosts for giving him the one who had no qualms with teaching children how to deceive others successfully. He used to suck at lying, now he was almost a pro! This whole lying thing was getting way easier.

“Yeah, well I’d be cool with showing you guys some stuff sometime, but, uh, right now I gotta...do a thing.” Spencer cringed slightly as his speaking skills slowly deteriorated.

“Oh! Well, you’ll be back right? Would kinda suck if you left us with all the after party clean up…” Rajeev trailed off meaningfully, and Spencer rolled his eyes goodnaturedly.

“Yeah, I’ll be back. I still owe you guys for covering for me, so don’t sweat it. I just have a thing, I’ll be back in a bit!” Spencer waved to the siblings quickly and ran out of the Freaky Tiki room, looking around for a familiar opacity challenged celebrity.

While he refrained from calling out for Billy in fear of looking like he had a screw loose, he still ran around the mansion in search for his friend. Spencer squeezed his guitar pick pendant anxiously and he looked around the buffet room. He had it, so where-

“-An absolute _disgrace_! This so called party is nothing but a circus of disarray!” 

Spencer grimaced at the scratchy, nagging voice that was not-so-subtly insulting his parents party. He craned his neck to see over the buffet table and on the other side was-

“Nancy, you have _no_ idea! _I_ heard that the Wrights are in cahoots with the Bugatti’s so they can sully the good name of our neighborhood! They were _poor_ before they inherited the mansion, you know? They told me! A waitress and an nurse! And the _husband_ was the nurse!” Cathy gossiped to a tired looking Susan and Nancy.

Spencer bit the inside of his cheek to refrain from yelling at the women. How could they be so rude and stuck up? Did they come here just to pick apart and needle and gossip about _everything_? They were the worst group of individuals he’d ever had the misfortune to meet!

Spencer looked around the room a bit more, making sure to avoid the unsavory group badmouthing on the other side. He was sorely tempted to start tossing cupcakes at Rusty Steels bald head, but his mom’s food deserved better than that. Besides, she’d kill him if he caused anymore trouble. 

He sighed and decided that Billy was probably somewhere more secluded, despite how strange that was for the spirit. He usually loved hanging out in crowded rooms with his family, but maybe Billy didn’t want company right now. After all, they hadn’t really resolved their argument outside of aiding and abetting an awesome prank.

“He’s probably…” Spencer trailed off as he made his way to the elevator, ignoring the small twist of anxiety that pulled at his chest. 

_‘Here I go…’_ He thought as he pressed the button to go up.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy had watched Shanilla and Rajeev stare down Spencer’s parents like seasoned warriors, or, well Shanilla at least. Rajeev had mostly sweated profusely. Despite that, Billy had been impressed, then relieved when the Hugh-Man and Janey let the kids off with only minor funishment. He’d been just moments away from tackling Spencer with a victory hug when Spencer had beat him to the punch.

By hugging Shanilla and Rajeev.

He’d watched half phazed through the door as Spencer gushed at how _great_ and _reliable_ they’d been, how they’d been there when he _needed_ them. He saw the way Spencer beamed at them with the most relieved and happy smile ever. 

Billy wasn’t stupid, he knew what he was seeing. Spencer was...making friends.

I mean, of course he was! Spencer was funny and smart and super friendly, of course he was! If anyone could make nice with recently redeemed mortal enemies, it was Spencer. And they were good. At least, they looked it. They were silly, supportive, his age and _not dead_ , they were GREAT! 

Billy pulled back out of the Freaky Tiki room and took a deep breath. 

This was fine. He’d done his part, and now.... He should probably let Spencer enjoy the party. He probably didn’t want to talk about their argument and how awful Billy had been right now. He had some... _cool_ new friends to hang with! Why ruin that? Spencer didn’t own him his time right now. He could wait!

Billy took another deep breath, ignoring the way it hitched and phased through the ceiling up to Spencer's room. Billy flopped onto his-Spencers racecar bed and bit the inside of his cheeks painfully hard to stop the crying fit bubbling up from his throat. 

“NO! You don’t get to….” He yelled into the pillow he was attempting to smother himself with, slightly phasing through it as he squished his face into it.

No way was he gonna cry! There was no reason to and he shouldn't be allowed, not after everything he’d screwed up today. He was an adult dang it! He should be better than this!

“Why are you such a crybaby….?” He asked into the pillow, taking a shuddering breath and keeping his eyes squeezed tightly shut. He refused to ecto this pillow, and he refused to cry! He was FINE!

“He deserves better- _other_ friends. He needs more friends, he’s all alone here. Just...Grow up! Jeez, what is wrong with me!?” Billy rolled over onto his back and huffed in a mix of anxiety and frustration.

Billy laid on his back, trying to clear his mind and take deep breaths to calm down. When Spencer did come up to his room, Billy didn’t want to look-...Whatever he looked like now. He didn’t want that. Spencer was a sarcastic kid, but he actually looked up to him, and he hated coming up short. If Spencer saw how much of a wreck he was, he’d never forgive himself.

_‘Oh, cause we haven't cried and cheated and showed our worst selves to him already. Wow! I guess we suddenly have standards!’_

Billy's breath stuttered, and he clapped his hands onto his face as a small choked sob broke through. Why was his brain betraying him like this now? And so spitefully too! Billy groaned angrily at himself and sat up, pressing his hands into his eyes so hard he was sure if he'd still been alive he'd leave a bruise.

Billy never thought his overly emotional tear ducts would be such a drag until now. Usually, crying ended with him getting a pony or an apology and a hug. When he'd been alive, he'd never tried to stop himself from crying like this, so he wasn't really good at it. Well, _actually_ … Still, this was different. He didn't want to use his tears to guilt Spencer into forgiving him or doing what he wanted, though he'd admit he wasn't above that type of thing.

He just wanted to be a good friend, and he wanted Spencer to decide he was because he'd _proved_ it, not because he'd faked it. If he wanted to do that, he'd have to take drastic measures, because the water works and painful squeezing of his heart didn't seem to be backing off anytime soon. There was only one tried and true way to get Billy Joe Cobra to stop crying, but Billy honestly didn't like using it. If he did it wrong, it sometimes made him cry even more. But this wasn't the time for second guessing himself, he needed to buck up. There was no other choice!

Time to use the _last resort_.

“... _Baruch Miller Cohen_ , if you don’t stop throwing yourself a pity party _this second_ , I will show the entire world that picture of you with Jane's haircut and the press will circulate it until the day you’re great great grandkids _die_ of embarrassment!” Billy threatened, clenching his fists and lowering his voice to resemble that of his father.

Billy held his breath and kept his eyes squeezed shut and after a few seconds, let out a long sigh. He sat in silence for a full minute then smiled. 

“It still works! Thanks dad, you piece of shi-”

“Billy? Is that you?”

Billy gasped, cutting himself off and turned towards the elevator to face a worried looking Spencer Wright. 

“Spencer? What are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and critique are welcomed!


	16. Sixteenth Episode! What Breaks a Friend?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he'd been moping around his mansion for three years, he's slowly lost hope that people were still looking for him, much less thinking about him. He'd thrown more tantrums than he'd care to count about how unfair it was, how cruel the world was to him. He'd fantasized about people wailing in grief at his absence and losing the will to live without his glowing presence.
> 
> Now? Actually seeing people looking for him, missing him, crying for him… It felt _wrong_. He didn't know why exactly, but it made his stomach churn and his throat close up when he thought about it too hard. Why wasn't this making him happy? He should be basking in the light shining through the holes in all the hearts he'd torn up. Why did seeing these people look for him feel so… hopeless?

As the elevator stopped at Spencer's room, the sound of a familiar someones voice reached his ears.

"It still works! Thanks dad, you piece of shi-"

"Billy? Is that you?"

Billy gasped, and turned towards the elevator to face a worried looking Spencer Wright as he made his way towards the ghost.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" Billy asked nervously, looking flustered.

"Well, after the whole Lolo debacle, you just disappeared, and...Well, we still have stuff to talk about." Spencer sighed as he sat next to Billy on the bed, frowning when he noticed Billy scoot away a few inches.

Billy wasn't exactly ready for this encounter anymore. He had been, but that'd been before he'd seen Spencer and the twins getting all buddy-buddy. He was all flustered now! Not to mention just a tiny bit emotionally compromised, what with seeing Holly and Ash, his talk with Adam and all the crazy stuff happening today, he wasn't sure he could pull this apology off anymore.

Billy worried his thumb and nodded, looking everywhere but at Spencer as he spoke. "Uh, so...the twins…?"

He wasn't sure why Spencer had ditched his new friends just to talk with him. Did they get in a fight after he left?

 _'That would be nice.'_ He thought, then scowled at himself for being so petty. What was wrong with Spencer having other friends? He really needed to get over himself, because this was just ridiculous.

Spencer's frown deepened at Billy's strange behavior, but he quickly shrugged it off. "They're partying right now, I can get to them later. This is more important."

Billy finally looked at Spencer when he responded, and gave him a small smile. He shifted till he was facing Spencer completely, took a small breath, then grabbed one of Spencer's hands.

"Spence, I'm so, _so_ sorry about what I said to you. I should have been a more supportive friend, but instead all I cared about was proving how good my advice was."

 _'And make sure you needed me. Because no one does. Not anymore.'_ Billy silently pushed aside the painfully accurate intrusive thought and continued, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"I just...I didn't want to seem useless, but I get that a good friend is more useful being there for his bro, not telling him what to do."

Spencer found himself momentarily speechless in the face of Billy's blatant sincerity. The rock star looked genuinely ashamed and upset at himself, it was honestly jarring. Billy was usually always so confident, bordering on narcissism. Now though, he just looked...

"I-I get it if you want some time, and I deserve that." Billy added when Spencer didn't respond, biting his lip nervously.

"I just hope you can trust me again, as a friend I mean. I'm really...I'm really sorry for screwing up your night, dude." Billy squeezed Spencer hand gently, then let go and scooted back a bit to give Spencer room to think.

Spencer was still in shock. Billy looked so withdrawn and it was _so weird!_ The ghost was sitting there, biting his thumb nervously and was back to looking everywhere but at him. If it wasn't so out of character, Spencer would have found it more endearing. Instead, all he wanted to do was make it stop. Billy didn't look good all meek and worried like that.

"Hey, Billy, I appreciate the apology, cause you did act like a huge tool shed back there, but I'm not angry at you. Honestly, this whole mess started up because I wanted to lie about myself, I should have expected things to go downhill."

Spencer smiled as Billy started looking at him again, relaxing his shoulders as he spoke. "I still trust you dude. I wasn't-I didn't mean it when I said I didn't trust you. I guess I just meant I don't... _rely_ on you. At least not when it comes to advice. It's good advice, don't get me wrong! It's just, not the main reason I like hanging out with you."

Billy smiled as Spencer spoke, his posture seeming to relax as he explained. "So... why _do_ you like hanging out with me?" Billy asked jokingly, though Spencer could hear what he would swear was a hint of anxiousness.

Spencer shrugged nonchalantly, falling onto his back on the bed and folding his hands over his stomach. "Must be your magnetic personality." He deadpanned, then chuckled at Billy's unimpressed frown.

" _Hehehe_ , Okay, okay! Seriously though? I just like you dude. You're fun, and you're actually _kinda_ cool-don't let it go to your head- and you actually like me too, so." Spencer shrugged again.

Billy looked down at Spencer as he named off all his winning qualities, and held back a small squeal of joy. Spencer liked him because he was fun and cool! He liked him just for being there! Billy fell hard onto the bed next to Spencer, chuckling as the teen grumbled from being jostled.

"Well, just so you know, I like hanging out with you too." Billy admitted, smiling at he stared up at the ceiling.

"-Cause you're smart for your age, chill when it counts, really honest and you...you want to hang out with _me_." Billy finished quietly.

Spencer's brain seems to stutter to a stop as he tried to process what he was sure he hadn't just heard. Had Billy just…? Before Spencer could respond to _that_ surprising realization, Billy seemed to register what he said and abruptly began stuttering out excuses.

"Which! Isn't _that_ surprising! Considering I'm _me_ , but, _you know_. Being clear as glass makes friend finding hard, even for someone as _interesting_ and _great_ as _me_ , so. Here we are! And, uhhhhh-How about that glitter prank, huh? Lolo was pretty blown away!"

Billy flushed slightly at his word vomit and was about to pretend to "accidentally" fall through the floor when Spencer abruptly started giggling.

"Was-was that a pun?! _Hehehe!_ What _is it_ with _puns?_ " Spencer giggled.

Billy watched Spencer for a moment before falling into a fit of giggles himself, mostly as Spencer's expense. The kid had contagious laughter! As Spencer calmed down, he looked back over at Billy and smiled warmly.

"Thanks by the way. For helping me. Getting yelled at by Lolo really sucked, so you were a real lifesaver. Especially when you took punch to the face for me. Raspberry looked like it would have left a nasty stain." Spencer observed, looking down at his mostly white shirt.

Billy cringed and nodded. "I can say with the utmost confidence, once Radical Raspberry gets its sugary claws into your fabrics, they're as good as gone. Just one party gone wrong for me to learn that the hard way."

Spencer snorted in amusement. "What happened? Did you try putting it in the bubble makers?"

Billy chuckled and shook his head, blushing and scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "You're a _little_ too young to hear this story. All I can say is that many beloved garments lost their lives that day to what I now call, _The Red Death._ "

Spencer laughed and slapped a hand over his eyes. Leave it Billy to have weird, unbelievable stories about freaking raspberry punch. A small part of him almost wanted to know the details that lead to Billy losing his dearly beloved clothes. From what he could tell, Billy treasured his costumes like they were his own children.

"The Red Death? Did you lose an especially nice pair of jeans to it's cheap, artificially flavored jaws?" He giggled, poking the hand Billy was using to cover his face in embarrassment.

Billy weakly swatted his prodding finger away and shook his head. " _Nooooo._ Listen Spenstar, Adam would _never_ forgive me if I told you this, it's not PG! Just trust me, it was _awful._ "

Spencer rolled his eyes and sat up, grabbing Billy's arm and pulling his up as well. "Well, this had been nice and all, but I think we should go back to the party before Shanilla and Rajeev think I'm bailing on them."

Billy stiffened at the mention of the twins, his smile falling ever so slightly. Billy forced his smile back, internally baratting himself for starting problems where there weren't supposed to be any. Things were good now, shut up brain.

"Uh, s-speaking of people that we know, you wouldn't have happened to see-"

"Rusty Steel?" Spencer interrupted with a small scowl. "Oh, yeah. I saw him alright. Him and the rest of the Neighborhood Committee. They sure are...well I'll just say nothing at all, cause I sure can't say anything nice!"

Billy paused in confusion for a moment before realizing he hadn't told Spencer about the details of his last day, or about the Woods. Of course those two wouldn't be a blip on his zombie themed radar. Not that it mattered much now, especially since Spencer seemed to have have a very interesting grudge against The Ruster after only meeting him once!

Billy snickered and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I get that. I used to deal with those soggy gym shorts all the time, but now that I'm like this, they think they can get away with anything! I honestly don't even care much, but Rusty really grinds my gears…"

Spencer looked at how frustrated Billy was, then stood up in a resolute manner. "Okay! Billy, I have an idea."

Billy floated to eye level with Spencer and cocked his head curiously before nodding. " Sure duder, shoot."

Spencer smiled. "So, my parents are kinda on red alert cause of our earlier stunt, but I think I we cheat fate just one more time tonight. Now I'm not suggesting we do anything crazy, but I was think we should go to Rusty Steel and tell him what you think about that indoor waterfall he has. Then we give him a little scare to send the message home!"

Billy nodded eagerly as Spencer laid out his plan and shoot up into the air. "YEAH! Spenknife that's the best plan EVER! You can be my voice dude, then I can be the final nail in his metabrorical coffin!"

"Try not to scare him too bad, or it might end up being his _literal_ coffin. Guy's old!" Spencer warned halfheartedly.

He couldn't hide the small smile on his face at seeing Billy cheered up and back to his old self. As they both went down with the elevator (Billy, more out of instinct than need) Spencer mentally tallied the pros and cons of the day. So far, he might just end up outnumbering the cons this time, considering he was ending the night with _three_ friends, and a party prank he'd never even had the privilege to dream of. Take that Lolo!

Billy and Spencer both quickly exited the elevator and started looking around the party for Rusty Steel, Billy flying a few feet ahead with Spencer peeking into every room he passed. Then he remembered.

Spencer grabbed Billy's collar causing the ghost to gag as he pulled him closer and hissed into the spirits ear. "Billy! I saw the shitty Committee in the buffet room!"

Billy started to smile, then scowled reproachingly, leaning away from the teen, hand fluttering to his chest like a maiden whose honor had been besmirched. " _Spencer!_ You can't say-"

"I can do what I want! Let's go!" Spencer interrupted, running past the phantom to the buffet room and leaving a very flustered and offended ghost in his wake.

"Hey! After we scare that old geezer, I'm washing your mouth out with windex!" Billy threatened as he flew after the teen, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling.

Adam would get angry if he thought he was encouraging Spencer to curse. That didn't mean he couldn't silently enjoy the kids moxxy. Besides, he and Adam had been saying and doing way worse at that age. No harm, no foul!

As the two friends peeked into the buffet room, both their eyes locked onto Rusty Steel sitting alone with a plate of shrimp and deviled eggs. Apparently the committee had finally decided to leave the party, and that meant…

"He's _alllll_ alone~" Billy sang, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Yeah, let's do this Billy!" Spencer agreed, idly grabbing a chocolate chip cookie from the table and making his way over to Rusty confidently. The Cobra had his back after all.

"Hello, Mr. Steel? Can I talk to you for a sec?" Spencer asked, watching Billy float over to Rusty and get right behind him with an evil glint in his eye.

Rusty looked up at Spencer in confusion for a moment, then smiled and patted the chair besides him. "Well, why not? Sit down son, what's on your mind?"

Spencer smiled politely back, ignoring the small nagging voice in his head that was already worried about his plan. Rusty seemed kind of nice. Old, but nice. Was this really a good idea? He looked up to Billy, who was grinning like a kid on Christmas and gave him two encouraging thumbs up.

Spencer smiled and sat down, shutting out his traitorous conscience. Rusty was a jerk. He'd been a jerk when Billy was alive, the moment Billy had disappeared, and was the head of the Neighborhood Committee. He might look like a nice old man, but this guy was a bag of sour grapes, pure and simple.

"Um, okay." Spencer started, collecting his thoughts so he could deliver this right. He didn't want Rusty to have any doubt who he was speaking for.

"I guess, I just wanted to ask you…"

"Oh, hey! It's Warren Pieces! Dude's looking pretty good!" Billy said excitedly, leaning over Rusty Steels shoulder.

Spencer's eyes wandered across the buffet room at Billy's interruption. His eyes landed on a particularly southern looking man serving himself a large portion of his mom's egg salad. Spencer had never seen a grown man wear a cowboy hat with such confidence before, it was pretty weird to see. As Spencer ogled the the cheery looking man, he remembered something.

_'-Warren was a pal, he was the head of the ZP, Officer Warren Peace! He was so mad, he took one look at Rusty's waterfall and wrote up Rusty so hard he wasn't allowed to remodel his mansion for five years!'_

Spencer smiled mischievously to Billy, then turned to Rusty.

"-...did you think Billy forgot?

"Excuse me?" Steel asked.

Spencer smiled triumphantly as he stood up and waved Warren Peace over. "...Cause I don't think Warren did."

Rusty frowned in confusion, his eyes suddenly widening in realization as Warren looked over at Spencer curiously and began advancing towards the teen with egg salad in hand.

Rusty gaped for a moment and tried to stutter out a response. "How-"

"Well hey there!" Warren interrupted, greeting Spencer happily. "What's the matter kiddo?"

Spencer smiled at Peace politely and gestured for him to sit on the other side of Steel. "I just wanted to say hi to the head zoning officer responsible for making _all_ the cool stuff in Billy's mansion possible!"

Spencer smiled over to Rusty Steel knowingly as he spoke, looking back over to Warren Peace

"That water-slide is _awesome_! I'm kinda surprised that the head of the Neighborhood Committee would allow all of it though, _especially_ the indoor waterfalls!"

Billy giggled in excitement as Steel seemed to pale at Spencer's words and readied himself for a scare. Steel was finally getting his comeuppance!

Peace looked over at Rusty, seemingly surprised to see him there and smiled. "Well, how do ya do, Steel? You're right about the committee having a fit kid, this guy right here was especially peeved, let me tell you! How are those God awful waterfalls of yours anyway?"

Spencer and Billy both frowned in unison at Warren's strangely friendly response. If Spencer didn't know any better, he'd think they were pals or something. Billy gave Spencer an awkward shrug in response, floating away from Steel a bit in worry.

Steel gave Spencer a searching look, then turned to Peace and shrugged. "Messy and useless as always. Won't be taking them down till I finally get a proper response though. He's been keeping me waiting for three years Peace, the nerve! You think this long would be far beyond fashionably late."

Warren gave a sad smile in response and nodded. "Sure Steel, I'm sure he'll be back any day now to show you what for. I-I gotta go find the wife, see ya later. Nice party kid, real funny prank too!"

Spencer and Billy both looked at each other in a mix of confusion and worry. This wasn't how any of that was supposed to go, and the friendly manner in which both the men spoke to each other was baffling to say the least.

"Um…" Spencer tried to think of where to go from there, but he was so confused. "So are...you and Warren Peace friends now?"

Rusty looked over Spencer curiously for a moment, then smiled knowingly. "Why? What were you expecting son?"

Billy winced as Spencer paled and made a cutting motion with his neck, flying behind Spencer and pulling his hair in distress. "This plan is bombing dude! Abort! ABORT!"

"W-well, I wasn't-I mean-" Spencer stuttered uselessly as Steel stared him down. This was going downhill fast and he had no idea why! What had Warren Peace and Rusty even been talking about? Something about someone coming back after three- Wait.

"Wait a second. Are you still waiting for Billy?" Spencer asked in disbelief.

Billy's jaw dropped as Rusty smiled sadly and nodded, popping a shrimp into his mouth and leaning back in his chair. "He made a promise to me during the waterfall incident, though I suppose you already know that. I didn't think Billy had ever talked about it to anyone though."

Billy pushed his jaw back into place and looked at Spencer with the most baffled expression as Spencer leaned forward in surprise. "So, are you telling me- Wait, what _are_ you telling me? No! You know what? Why-why did you build those waterfalls after Billy- after he... _y'know_. That was so uncool!"

Rusty leaned away from Spencer in surprise for a moment, then frowned in thought as he fiddled with a shrimp tail. "I waited at first, after he disappeared. I thought he was just blowing off steam. The poor boy was obviously being worked like a dog, so I thought nothing was wrong."

Billy floated down into the chair on the other side of Rusty, looking just as surprised as Spencer did.

"I probably looked suspicious being the only one in the neighborhood who wasn't worried about Billy, but I thought he was finally taking my advice. I'd always told him he needed to take a break, I always said 'Take a holiday Billy. You're rich! What do you think all that money's for?' but he never listened. I just...wanted him to be happy again."

Spencer slumped his shoulders as Rusty spoke and totally obliterated any plans he had had about pranking him or getting back at him for the waterfall incident. Turns out Rusty really _was_ a nice old man. Spencer glanced accusingly at Billy, but Billy seemed to focused on Rusty to notice.

"I only began to worry when an entire month had passed. Billy was a troublemaker and a workaholic, so the idea that he had managed to not make a scene at some private resort and hadn't returned to get back to work wasn't right. I thought, maybe he was just laying low because of some scandle, or maybe- _god forbid_ , he was in some sort of trouble."

Rusty took a small bite out of a shrimp and sighed. "I decided, if there was one thing that could bring Billy out of hiding, it would have to be something that tapped into that rascals spite. So, I went ahead and built the largest and second largest indoor waterfalls in my mansion and posted the news in every media source out there! I thought, if Billy saw, he'd have to come back and…"

Rusty trailed off for a moment and Spencer pursed his lips when he realized that Steel was getting teary eyed. Spencer pulled out a tissue from his jeans and handed it to Rusty quietly, letting out a shaky breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Rusty nodded his head in thanks and wiped at his eyes.

"Thank you... I'm sorry, you must be bored hearing me prattle on about all this. I just-I haven't really talked about any of this to anyone. The time I shared with Billy was something I liked to keep private. I suppose you just remind me of him somewhat."

Spencer pulled back in interest, resting his hand on his chest on mock offense. "Me? Like Billy? I'd like to think I'm a little more humble than that."

Rusty smiled and shook his head. "No, no, I don't mean his big head. Although seeing as you never meet him, I'm surprised you seem to be so well versed in his character. Speaking of, how _did_ you hear about the waterfall incident?"

Spencer dropped his hand and internally winced, realizing just how familiar with Billy he had been acting so far. He'd forgotten that before he'd moved to Beverly Heights, he'd never even watched a Billy Joe Cobra music video, much less know intimate details about his history and relationships.

"Uh, I ju-I'm just really interested! In..Billy! You know, what with me living in his old house and inheriting all his stuff. I asked around the party and someone told me about the whole waterfall thing, so, yeah!" Spencer ended lamely, pointedly ignoring Billy as he face palmed at his pathetic lie. What did Billy know? He wasn't the one who almost scared an innocent old guy!

"Hm, is that so? Well, I suppose that makes the bare minimum of sense." Rusty relented, smiling in an unnervingly knowing fashion as he slowly stood, his old joints cracking.

" _Ahhhh._ Well, I have to head off. I'm not much of a party person and this party has been... _very interesting_ , to say the least."

Spencer forced a polite smile in hopes it would cover up how nervous he was. Rusty paused to look at the chair Billy was sitting in curiously. Billy leaned back as Rusty leaned forward and the ghost looked over to Spencer with a cry for help expression. Before Rusty's nose was about to brush Billy's, the man finally leaned back and smiled at Spencer as if he hadn't just been inspecting an empty chair.

"If you'd like to learn more about Billy, I suppose I'd be fine is you stopped by Mr. Wright. I'm sure Billy would be fine if I told you about him. If you two had met before, I could see you two being fast friends"

Spencer smiled and nodded as he stood up. "Thank you , I'll be sure to do that, I really appreciate it. Oh, and it's Spencer, Mr. Wright is my dad."

Rusty nodded, then threw away his now empty plate and left. Spencer watched the old man go, his polite smile slowing fading into a worried frown. The moment Steel was out of sight, Spencer whipped his head around to glare at Billy accusingly.

"Okay dude, what the HECK was that?! I thought Rusty was a jerk wad but his story and yours are _not_ adding up!"

Billy shrunk back. "I don't know! I wasn't lying Spender, I didn't know that dude actually liked me! I don't remember making up with him or hanging out or anything, so I'm super lost too!"

Spencer sat back down as the remaining part goers looked over at him yelling at nothing in confusion. He sighed and rested his chin in his palm.

"So you're telling me you don't remember talking with him at all after the potluck when Peace was pied in the face?"

Billy nodded, growing serious after a moment. "Actually Spencer...I don't remember a _lot_ of stuff from when I was alive. Me and Adam have been going over some stuff and...Well, I'm just missing a lot. I'm sorry dude, I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

Spencer frowned sympathetically and reached over to grab Billy's hand. "Hey, it's okay. You didn't know and it wasn't like you had any way to find out. I mean, he was purposely trying to annoy you into coming back, so from a certain perspective, he does look like a jerk."

Billy tried to smile back, but is was quickly wiped away by a worried frown. "I'm just kinda bummed about it dude. Like, I can't seem to remember anything important, like my disappearance, or my will, or this! I'm tired of only knowing like, the bare minimum about myself! How does my old grouchy neighbor know more about me than _me?!_ "

Spencer nodded along encouragingly and squeezed Billy's hand to calm him down. "You've been through a lot, dude, you have every right to be freaked out. It's been three years since you've even talked to anybody and we don't really know how this whole ghost thing works. All we can do now is find out what's missing and talk to the people who know about it."

Billy relaxed after a moment, then took a deep breath and sighed. " _Okay_ , yeah, you're right. It's just kinda frustrating I guess. This whole party has been super stressful and I'd really been hoping it would be the opposite."

Spencer let go of Billy's hand and leaned back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I get that, but, maybe we shouldn't have expected that? I mean, I haven't really gotten to know anything about Beverly Heights or the people since I started living here. With the kidnapping and moving into the mansion, this was the first time I've gotten to meet anyone here."

Billy floated up into a reclining position and nodded slightly as he started off into space. Spencer was right. He'd been so excited to throw a party again after all this time that he'd completely forgotten what parties were really like. There was drama, there was secrets, there were pranks and grudges and despite his best efforts, there were fights. Thinking back, all the other parties Billy had thrown were all a little something like this, though, this party was admittedly more tame.

"And that's not even adding in the fact that this was the first time Cobra Mansion has been opened up since your disappearance!" Spencer added. "Half of the people who came only did so they could reminisce about you dude! And the majority of those guys were bitter jerks!"

" _Except_ Rusty." Billy interjected, unable to hide the lingering traces of disbelief in his voice.

Spencer nodded distractedly as he continued, waving his hand for emphasis. "This party not only came with baggage, but it was thrown by people who had no idea how to deal with Beverly Heights. I'm actually surprised the night ended so well!"

"You think this party's going _well_?" Billy asked, floating into an upside down position and scoffing.

"Well, why not?" Spencer challenged, smiling as he stood up to leave the buffet room and look for Shanilla and Rajeev. "Lolo told me some interesting stuff about the Neighborhood Committee that I can use for later, and despite our falling out, in a way, she was the reason I met the Bugwatti twins!"

Billy scowled on reflex but quickly covered it up. "W-well I still don't get how they're even twins? They look _nothing_ like each other!" He complained, waving his arms in offense as he floated after Spencer.

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Twins just means they were born at the same time Billy, it doesn't mean they have to look the same."

Billy's eyes widened as he finally caught up to Spencer, mouth slightly agape as he processed the information. " _Oooooh._ "

Spencer didn't bother fighting back the small fond smile the pulled at his lips at Billy's expression. Sometimes Billy was hilarious and Spencer was pretty sure he had no idea.

"What's more, even though we fought tonight, we still made up. I thinks that's awesome, and hopefully, we won't run into the same problems again, or at least not as badly as we did this time." Spencer added more quietly, walking past the now empty Freaky Tiki room.

Billy smiled, unable to hide the warm burst of bittersweet fondness he felt for this kid. "Yeah, well best friends make up dude, fake friends break up."

Spencer smiled in appreciation at Billy, then waved to his mom and dad as Jane carried a now sleeping Jessica to her room. They both smiled back at Spencer, quietly whispering to each other as Hugh picked up another girl after whispering to one of the other party guests.

"And hey! We found out some new stuff about you we hadn't known before, so, that's kind cool. Maybe we can visit Mr. Steel later and learn even more?"

Billy rested his cheek in his palm and thought for a moment as he floated after Spencer, then shrugged in acceptance. "I don't see why not? It'll be pretty cool to find out how we became friends, I guess. Who knows, maybe I took him on some wicked cool adventure!"

Spencer huffed out a laugh at Billy's suggestion, then quickly made his way to his room elevator.

"I guess Shanilla and Rajeev went back to my room. That's where we talked by the way. They explained the whole, spying on me thing and why they did it."

Billy frowned and crossed his arms as he floated into the elevator next to Spencer. "I still don't think that was cool dude. Are you sure you can trust those two?"

Spencer pursed his lips for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know if I trust them yet Billy. I think they're nice, but I'm still not completely sure. They _did_ risk their necks for me though and I can't ignore that, so I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt."

Billy scratched at his arm in irritation and sighed. He was being weird about those two and he knew it, but at least for now he had a good excuse to be on edge. They seemed like nice kids despite his not so great feelings about them, but they had been royal jerks to Spencer, so all bets were off. As long as they remained in the shades of gray area, Billy was gonna be keeping a _very_ close eye on on them. Thinly veiled prejudice and jealousy be damned!

Billy nodded slightly in a resolute manner and turned to Spencer. "You know what Spenpal? You do that. After all, you have me to make sure they stay in line and don't talk smack behind your back! Just keep it one hundred and I'm sure things'll work out just fine."

Spencer raised his eyebrows at the ghosts encouragement and smiled in appreciation. "I will. Honestly, all this lying has really tired me out so it'll be a big relief to just be myself for once."

Billy smiled as the elevator came to a stop and they both entered Spencer's room. To Spencer's relief, both Shanilla and Rajeev were there, looking around the room oohing and ahhing at some of Billy's trophies and awards.

"Hey guys! Sorry I kept you waiting so long, I was just busy, uh, catching up with someone." Spencer greeted.

Shanilla jumped in surprise at Spencer's voice and Rajeev squealed like a school girl, dropping the half eaten cupcake he'd been holding.

"Jeez Spencer! Give a guy a warning, would ya?" Rajeev wined, scooping up his now squashed looking cupcake.

Spencer winced sympathetically at the mess. "Opps! sorry Rajeev, I didn't mean to sneak up on you guys."

Shanilla shook her head and smiled placatingly. "No, no, it's fine Spencer, we were just so distracted we didn't hear you."

Billy eyed the trophies the twins had been ogling in suspicion, floating through Shanilla and pointedly ignoring her shiver in response as he looked. Billy's eyes widened as he realized the trophies they were admiring were all of a specific kind.

"Spent up! The wonder twins were looking at my movie awards! Ooooh! This one's my favorite!" Billy gushed, wiping a smidge of dust off the head of an Outstanding Actor award.

Spencer walked over to inspect the shelf and smiled to Shanilla. "So you guys must really like movies, huh? Your parents are producers right? Are you guys interested in the business?'

Shanilla visible brightened as did Rajeev, though Shanilla decided to speak first, lightly shoving an eager looking Rajeev aside and making him drop his cupcake again.

"Oh yes! I'm actually really interested in becoming a producer like my parents! They get to meet famous actors and writers, take trips to exotic and foreign places, and they get to make big decisions on major motion pictures! It's the dream!"

Rajeev rolled his eyes as Shanilla spoke, inspecting his now dusty looking cupcake for a moment, then shrugging and popping the whole thing into his mouth. Billy watched in horror and gagged, slapping a hand over his eyes in dismay. Rajeev quickly hip bumped his sister aside just as she took a breath to continue.

"Well that's all well and good lil sis, but we all know the being an actor is where it's at!" Rajeev jeered.

Shanilla bristled at being interrupted and glared at her brother. "You only came out thirty seven seconds before me Rajeev! We're twins, you aren't older-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night!" Rajeev said, waving his sister off and he draped an arm over Spencer's shoulder. "As I was _saying_ , being a producer is a total drag! You have to work day and night setting up schedules and paying for everything! Meanwhile, actors get paparazzi, cute girls, and loads of cash! What's more you get to play all kids of amazing roles like pirates and monsters and princes! Now _that_ , is the dream if you ask me!"

Billy scowled at the arm Rajeev had laid on Spencer shoulder, then huffed and crossed his arms sourly, remaining out of Spencer's line of sight in mild fear he'd notice how much the twins irked him. Before Spencer could respond to Rajeev's broad claims, Shanilla suddenly came up behind Rajeev and roughly mussed up his hair.

"Take that!" Shanilla said, snickering gleefully as Rajeev's jaw dropped in horror.

"HEY! This took me hours to get right!"

Spencer laughed as Rajeev scrambled to salvage his hair and moved to sit on his bed nearby. "I don't know you guys, I think being a director's the dream. You get the creative license to make amazing stories and and the platform to spread it across the world!"

"Well, that is true. "Shanilla conceded, sitting next to Spencer after giving Rajeev's hair one more ruffle. "I guess we all just have different interests when it comes to our part in the creative process."

"Well, I still say actors are the most important." Rajeev replied, sitting on a nearby bean bag chair and huffing in frustration as his hair flopped into his face.

Spencer thought about what Shanilla said for a moment, then slowly smiled. "Hey...You know how I said I'd teach you guys some things about special effects? Well, I was just thinking, why not just make a movie?"

Billy's eyes widened as the jaws of both siblings dropped in shock. Shanilla quickly collected herself and laughed in disbelief as she tapped her brothers mouth shut.

"A movie? Spencer, we're just kids, and unlike Lolo, we can't spend ridiculous amounts of money on frivolous things! We don't have a camera crew, much less all the funding needed to-"

"I know, I know! I'm not saying we should make a Beverly Heights blockbuster or something!" Spencer reassured, standing up to pull something out of his desk.

Billy zipped over to Spencer's desk and gasped as Spencer pulled out a brand new hand held camcorder.

"I convinced my mom to get me this last week, remember?" Spencer whispered to an excited looking Billy.

Billy nodded, remembering how last week Spencer had been complaining about wanting a new camcorder. Billy had gotten annoyed with the teens whining after three straight hours of trying to distract him and he'd finally suggest he just buy it. "You have my fortune now Spender! You can buy an entire camera crew if you want!" Spencer had taken Billy's suggestion to heart for once and after a seminar on the appropriate application of puppy dog eyes, Spencer had convinced his mom to let him buy it online.

Billy smiled as Spencer displayed the small triumph to the twins proudly.

"See this? I've been wanting to practice making short films for a while, but being the actor, director and producer for all my films has been a real drag. Why don't we work together? Then, we can all practice our respective interests and maybe even get some views on MeTube!"

Rajeev nodded along with Spencer eagerly. "That sounds awesome! I can finally put all my acting class teachings to good use!"

"And I can finally get to experience what it's like to be a producer!" Shanilla cheered.

"Then it's settled!" Spencer agreed, looking over to Billy meaningfully. "With me directing, Rajeev as my star, and Shanilla as the producer, we're gonna be a MeTube hit!"

Billy frowned as he was noticeably excluded but quickly smiled as the teens cheered.

"And to top it all off, we have my special effects!' Spencer added, looking over to Billy again and raising his eyebrows meaningfully.

Billy squinted at Spencer in confusion as the twins looked over to Spencer expectantly.

"Yeah! Your special effects are really cool! Hey, can you show us that invisible wall thing again?" Rajeev asked.

Billy's eyes widened in realization as Rajeev spoke. So _he_ was the special effects? Billy looked over to Spencer and their eyes met. For a moment a silent agreement passed between them and then Billy smiled.

"Actually, why don't I show you something even cooler?" Spencer asked Rajeev confidently, looking over to Billy again and nodded lightly to him.

"One super cool special effect coming right up!" Billy announced frivolously, glancing around the room for an item to mess with and grinning as his eyes landed on his trusty guitar.

Billy swooped down and slung his guitar strap over his shoulder confidently, excitement and slight nervousness bubbling up in his stomach at the realization that this would be his first performance in front of an audience(three technically _is_ a crowd) in three years. Spencer smiled encouragingly to Billy as the twins gasped in awe at the seemingly floating guitar.

" _ **And a one, and fun, and a one, two, three, four!**_ " Billy struck a low chord and after a second of both Shanilla and Rajeev crying out in surprise, Billy started to play. He absentmindedly hummed along, unable to separate the guitar playing with the song in mind.

"How-? Spencer that's _amazing!_ " Shanilla gushed, taking a hesitant step forward as the guitar continued to play and sway slightly in the air.

Billy smiled down at Shanilla for her compliment and inched closer to her in appreciation, raising higher in the air as he preformed.

"This is TOTALLY SICK, dude! What kinda gear to you have to have to make that happen?" Rajeev asked as he experimentally pawed at the empty air around the guitar.

Billy rolled his eyes as Rajeev's hand went through his face and he struck a particularly loud chord, causing Rajeev to flinch and take a step back. Spencer gave Billy a reprimanding glare which Billy ignored in favor of plucking his guitar strings playfully and then bowing. He set his guitar carefully aside and Spencer rolled his eyes as the twins clapped, Billy seeming to enjoy the attention as he bowed excessively, even pretending to wipe away some fake tears.

"Thanks guys. I'm sorry to say, I can't exactly tell you all my secrets just yet, but you'll be seeing a lot more when we start filming for our film!" Spencer reassured, looking over to Billy for confirmation and smiling when the specter nodded, crossing his arms and reclining in the air happily.

Just as the siblings were about to respond, Jane was suddenly stepping out from Spencer's elevator with cookies in hand.

"Hey kids! I'm sorry to interrupt, but it looks like our party is coming to an end. I brought you all the last cookies so you can snack before you get to work!" Jane enthused as Spencer hunched his shoulders childishly.

Jane rolled her eyes at her pouting son. "Spencer, you _promised_. And besides, I asked the Bugwatti's and they said your friends could sleep over if you wanted. Jessica's already made a friend and Ariel is sleeping over, so if you want…" Jane trailed off expectantly.

Spencer expression brightened for a moment at the idea of having an actual sleep over. He'd never actually had one before, seeing as none of his old friends from his old school had wanted to stay over at his dinky apartment. Now? He had a mansion! Spencer looked back over at Shanilla and Rajeev and was about to ask them if they wanted to sleep over when his eyes landed on a very put out looking ghost floating just over the twins heads.

Spencer's expression fell a bit as their eyes locked. If they twins stayed overnight, Spencer would have to ignore Billy for the entire night, not to mention the morning after. Billy seemed to read Spencer's train of thought as the ghost's eyes quickly darted to the side.

"Hey dude, it's-it's cool. Don't worry about me, just have fun with your friends." Billy reassured weakly, unconsciously wrapping an arm around his middle.

Spencer frowned, then looked downward at an excited looking pair of siblings who he only just noticed were nodding eagerly at him. Spencer gave them both an apologetic smile and turned back to his mom.

"Um, mom I don't think I'm in a sleepover mood tonight, but, thanks for the offer. It's been a really long night so I think Shanilla and Rajeev just want to head home and...maybe come over tomorrow, if that's cool with you guys?"

Shanilla and Rajeev both shared a slightly disappointed look before Shanilla glanced back at Spencer and smiled.

"Sure Spencer, we'd love to come over tomorrow. Right Rajeev?"

Rajeev stood a little straighter and nodded, forcing a small smile like his sisters."Yeah! Maybe we can start getting that short film of yours ready."

Spencer gave both of them a thankful grin and turned back to his mom. "So, yeah! That's cool, right mom?"

Jane smiled and nodded as she handed Spencer and the twins some cookies. "Well, sure honey. Just come downstairs so you can help Mr. Peace clean up. He's going to end up doing your job for you if you don't hurry!"

Spencer and Billy looked to each other in confusion and as Rajeev shoved two entire chocolate chip cookies into his mouth as his sister watched in horror, Spencer and Billy followed Jane to the elevator curiously.

"Peace? You mean Warren Peace? Why is he cleaning up?" Spencer asked.

"Oh, well, he said he just wanted to help and he insisted on helping clean up. I couldn't really convince him to leave it to you three, but don't think I won't notice if you make him do all the work. Now head on down kids, time's a wasting!"

Spencer nodded to his mom as the twins came over to the elevator and they all squeezed inside. Spencer was pressed to the side wall of the elevator as Billy snickered at his slightly squished face. Spencer sent Billy a glare and internally ranted at the ghost for designing the elevator for only one or two people.

Just as Spencer was about to just ask Billy to just phased him through the elevator wall, consequences be damned, the elevator jerked to a stop and he quickly squeezed himself out into open air.

"Jeez! Pretty tight squeeze in there, huh?" Rajeev complained as Jane walked over to a box of trash bags and a wet wipe tube.

"Alright kids, so I need you three to pick up trash and wipe down all the surfaces that got dirty. That means tables, counters, walls, the works! You can delegate between yourselves who gets to do what, okay?"

Spencer grabbed a hold of the trash bags and Shanilla grabbed the wet wipe tube, both nodded in agreement as Rajeev pouted.

"Good! Now I have to go help your father put away all the leftovers, so you get to that!"

"Wait! Uh, c-can you tell me where Mr. Peace is cleaning? I just...want to make sure he isn't cleaning up all alone." Spencer asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Jane smiled approvingly. "Well, I last saw his cleaning up the buffet room with Hugh, but he's probably working towards the Freaky Tiki room right about now. Now, I have to go, be good kids!"

Spencer watched as his mom power walked to the kitchen, then looked back at the Bugwatti siblings in a resolute manner.

"Okay, so, I think I'm gonna go and help out Peace, can you two work on the entryway and the living room?" Spencer looked between the twins expectantly.

"Well sure we can. You should take the garbage bags since you'll be picking up more around where Mr. Peace is cleaning, just leave a handful for me. Rajeev, you can wipe down."

"But I don't _wannaaaa_ -" Rajeev cut off as Shanilla elbowed him in the stomach, rolling her eyes as he gagged dramatically.

Spencer watched the theatrics in genuine interest. Rajeev was actually pretty good at acting if you ignored his, well, _Rajeevness_. He pulled out and wad of trashbags from the box he was holding and handed them to Shanilla as she passed a reluctant Rajeev the wet wipes tube.

"Okay, let's get this done with. And-uh, thanks again, for sticking up for me. I really appreciate it. I know this isn't exactly the ideal situation to be in." Spencer added.

"It's cool dude, we owed you anyway!" Rajeev reassured as he daintily pulled out a wet wipe, eyeing it like it was a dead rat.

Shanilla placed a gentle hand on Spencer's hand and nodded. "We were happy to help Spencer. Besides, if you feel like you owe us, just remember we called your baby pictures ugly."

"Actually, that was just you." Rajeev cut in.

Shanilla blushed in embarrassment and elbowed her brother in the gut again, this time Rajeev's grunt of pain sounded real. Billy giggled at Rajeev hacked out a cookie chunk, giving the teen phantom pats on the back in mock sympathy.

"The _point_ is, we did it because it was the right things to do, just like this." Shanilla finished calmly.

Spencer relaxed under Shanilla's hand. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go find Peace, so, peace out!"

The twins waved as Spencer speed walked to the Freaky Tiki room with Billy close behind. Billy frowned in thought for a moment, then appeared in front of Spencer, causing the teen to skid to a halt.

"Okay, so, don't wanna take up too much of your time, but I just wanted to ask, why did you bail on the sleep over?" Billy worried.

Spencer walked around Billy after a moment and shrugged. "I don't know, it just didn't seem right."

Billy crossed his arms and tried to fight off the small leap of joy his heart was doing. He should be mad! Or sad? Well, he shouldn't be happy Spencer was blowing off his new friends. Especially not for him, which was the feeling he was getting.

"Dude, I said it was fine. If you want to do stuff that makes you happy, don't worry about me. I'm fine! I got Adam, and, you know, other stuff!"

Spencer slowed to a stop and turned towards Billy with worry clearly evident on his face, making Billy realize he was maybe really bad at this whole selfless thing. Why?! He could lie really well, but now that he was doing it for the greater good, he sucked? How was that fair?

"Billy, I just...I don't think it's fair. You've been like, my only friend ever since I got here, I can't just shove you aside."

Billy couldn't stop the burst of the warmth he felt at Spencer's words, or the fond smiled that pulled at his lips. He floated downward until he could place his feet on the ground and pulled Spencer into a soft hug.

"You're the best." He said quietly, then pulled away and pulled a more stern expression. "But I stand by what I said dude, don't be afraid to hang out with your friends. I can still chill with you, even if we can't really talk with them around. Oh! And I can still do special effects stuff, so."

Spencer grinned and gave Billy a quick hug in return. "Thanks Billy! Now let's go find Peace. I have a feeling he can tell us more about the whole waterfall incident."

Spencer then pulled away from the ghost and started off to find Warren again, unconsciously pulling Billy along by the sleeve. Billy just smiled at being dragged behind the teen and followed easily.

Spencer slowed down as they entered the Freaky TIki room to find Warren Peace wiping small puddles of water off the floor with paper towels. Billy felt a small twinge of guilt at seeing his prank on the Neighborhood Committee bring Warren trouble and subtly knelt down to phase a few puddles through the floor as Spencer walked over to Peace.

"Um, Mr. Peace?You don't have to wipe the floors you know. I can just get a mop and-"

"No, no! It's fine, I'm almost done anyway." Warren reassured. "No need to trouble yourself kid, you've had a long day."

Spencer smiled and picked up a wad of wet paper towels, shaking open a trash bag from his box and stuffing them inside. "I'm fine Mr. Peace, I've had longer days. Why are you even cleaning anyway, you're a guest? It's not like you made a mess or anything, you can go home."

Warren chuckled as he mopped up the last of the puddles and started picking up tissues and stray napkins and cups off the floor. "As a member of the zoning police, it's my solemn duty to assure that every party I attend is left in peak shape! Also, leaving a party without cleaning up is just rude."

"Can't argue with that logic" Spencer conceded, holding the trash bag open as Peace dumped an armful of trash into the bag.

Billy quietly slipped a few handfuls of garbage into the bag as well, making sure to phase them through the bags side when Peace wasn't looking so Warren wouldn't freak out over floating trash. Spencer sent Billy a silent smile in appreciation, then tied the bag off as Warren made his way to the hallway.

"So Mr. Peace...I just wanted to ask you, well, you know how you and Mr. Steel were talking about the waterfall incident and Bi-Mr. Cobra? I was just wondering if you could maybe tell me more about that? Like, the aftermath I mean." Spencer asked.

Warren paused mid lean as he reached for a plastic cup and looked back over at Spencer skeptically. "You wanna know more? Well the news pretty much covered that, didn't they? First year, there wasn't a day that went by they weren't interviewing someone or getting a new investigation report."

Spencer shook his head as he shook out a new trash bag and busied himself with picking up napkins. "No not-I don't mean like _that_ , I just mean...how was Steel? Cause, we talked and, well, he didn't seem too good."

Peace's shoulders slumped and he sighed, standing to lean against the hallway wall. "He's been waiting for Billy to show up for three years kid. Ain't showing any signs of stopping either. Poor old coot, really misses that kid. Not that I blame him, I guess we all do really."

"And he really thinks Bil-Mr. Cobra's coming back?" Spencer asked, glancing quickly to Billy who was floating besides him with a troubled expression.

Warren shrugged tiredly. "Well, can you blame him? No one's found the boy in three years and celebrities can get away with some pretty wild stuff! I know I wouldn't be surprised if he was still kicking it somewhere."

"So he's just hiding somewhere? Does that really seem like him? I mean, I didn't know him, but you did so…" Spencer trailed off.

Warren's expression darkened for a moment before he responded. "If Billy really is in hiding, he has a lot to answer for. After everything he's put everyone through?...I really, _really_ hope he's just taking a break, cause I don't know how long Steel can take the disappointment. And the water bills."

Spencer and Billy shared a sad look as Peace rubbed his eyes tiredly, then pushed himself off the wall to continue cleaning the hallway.

Billy didn't know what was worse, people not finding him, or people waiting for him to come back. At least one had hope, but at the same time… did it really? Billy looked down at his clear, see through hands as Spencer went back to work, picking up trash in silence.

Billy's mouth twisted into a deep frown as he remembered the way Ash and Holly had talked about his case, the way Steel's eyes had teared up as he spoke about the waterfalls.

When he'd been moping around his mansion for three years, he's slowly lost hope that people were still looking for him, much less thinking about him. He'd thrown more tantrums than he'd care to count about how unfair it was, how cruel the world was to him. He'd fantasized about people wailing in grief at his absence and losing the will to live without his glowing presence.

Now? Actually seeing people looking for him, missing him, crying for him… It felt _wrong_. He didn't know why exactly, but it made his stomach churn and his throat close up when he thought about it too hard. Why wasn't this making him happy? He should be basking in the light shining through the holes in all the hearts he'd torn up. Why did seeing these people look for him feel so… hopeless?

"That should about do it sport!" Warren said as he dusted his hands off in satisfaction.

Spencer nodded as he tied off the second bag of garbage, turning to look at Billy as the ghost lagged behind. Billy quickly caught up and gave Spencer a cheerful smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Thankfully, Spencer didn't seem to notice and only smiled back.

"I'll be heading off then kiddo. You try and stay outta trouble now, ya hear? The Neighborhood Committee doesn't take too kindly to troublemakers, so try and keep your head down."

"Will do! Thanks again for the help Mr. Peace, you really didn't have to." Spencer said.

Warren smiled and shook his head as Spencer lead him to the entryway. "You seem like a good kid Spencer, reminds me of Billy when he first came here."

Spencer quirked an eyebrow and smiled. "You know, I've been hearing a lot of that lately, and I still don't get it. I'm pretty sure me and B-Mr .Cobra are nothing alike."

"Not in most ways, sure, but…. You got his spirit kid."

Spencer and Billy shared a knowing look at Warren's accidental spot on description and Spencer opened the front door. "Well, see you around Mr. Peace. Have a good night!"

"You better hope I _don't_ come around kiddo, seeing the head of the zoning department's almost never good news! You have a good one kid."

Warren Peace waved Spencer goodbye and went off to his car, one of the only ones left in the mansions driveway.

"Well that was... _interesting?_ He seemed pretty nice at least." Spencer said, trying to give Billy a reassuring smile as he closed the door.

Billy gave an equally forced smiled as he wiped his hand down the side of his face. "I guess? But... _jeez_. I think I'm just gonna go chill in your room Spencer. You go hang with the Wonder Twins."

"Well, okay. You sure you're okay?"

Billy sighed and after a moment of hesitation, ran both hands down his face tiredly. " _Not...really_? I'm kind too worn out to talk about anything, not that I don't wanna talk about stuff with you _but_ -"

"Hey it's cool! Tonights been exhausting, we can talk later." Spencer said, placing a comforting hand on Billy's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Billy smiled at the show of empathy and nodded before he quickly flew through the ceiling to Spencer's room. He really needed to just be alone and think.

Spencer watched the ceiling as Billy phased through and after a moment let his smile fall away to reveal a worried frown.

He'd thought that talking to Warren Peace would reveal something else about Billy's past, and in a way it did, just not in the way he'd expected. He'd wanted to cheer Billy up, let him know that people missed him and had nice things to say about him, but the feeling he got from the ghost led him to believe that he'd been wrong.

Spencer sighed and started towards the kitchen so he could tell his parents that the last of the guests were gone. As he passed by the living room, he smiled and stopped to check up on the Bugwatti siblings.

"Hey guys! Mr. Pace and I finished up, do you need any help?"

Shanilla tied off a trash bag and shook her head as Rajeev wiped some juice off the table. No, it's fine, we're almost done too. In fact, Rajeev here's throwing a grumpy fit, so I think we're going to throw these out and go home. Our chauffeur's probably tired of waiting for us."

"That sound good! Wait, your chauffeur's waiting for you? How did your parents get home?" Spencer asked.

"Rajeev stuffed a handful of dirty wet wipes into a trash bag and smiled smugly. "Uh, they took our _other_ car, duh? They left the one they came in for us and just got picked up in the limo. I least I think they did. Oh, Shanilla! What if they left _us_ the limo?"

Shanilla rolled her eyes and scowled at Rajeev. "They haven't left us alone in the limo ever since the mall incident Rajeev. Why would they start now?"

Rajeev pouted and Spencer quirked an eyebrow to Shanilla in confusion. She simply shook her head and shuddered in response. "You _don't_ want to know, trust me Spencer. I still have nightmares."

"Wow, okay then, don't tell me." Spencer said sarcastically. " I gotta tell my parents we're almost done anyway, so, I'll tell them you two are heading out."

"Okay then, um…" Shanilla suddenly blushed and fidgeted with the bags of trash she was holding for a moment. "I-I guess this is goodbye for now?"

"Only until tomorrow." Spencer clarified awkwardly, the steadily approaching goodbye making him nervous.

"Yeah, and then we can hang out all day!" Rajeev enthused. Spencer smiled as Rajeev's enthusiasm seemed to break the tension.

Shanilla smiled back after a few seconds of internally worrying over something, then stepped forward and pulled Spencer into a quick hug.

"Rajeev and I really, _really_ appreciate you standing up for us Spencer." She said as she pulled away.

Rajeev nodded and followed suit, giving Spencer a quick hug and pat on the back before pulling away as well.

"Yeah Spencer, that was super cool of you." Rajeev added.

Spencer blushed and rubbed his arm nervously. "I just, did what anybody would have done. It wasn't a huge deal or anything guys."

The siblings shared a 'Is he serious?' look, then Shanilla went to pick up the bags, shoving two into Rajeev's hands.

"We'll see you tomorrow Spencer, have a good night!" Shanilla said, giving him a trash heavy wave and pulling her brother close behind her as they made their way to the entryway.

Spencer waved back and sighed happily. He didn't want to get his hopes up for those two, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't like them. They were pretty cool. Rajeev was funny and nice and Shanilla was sweet and smart. He really hoped they'd be able to become good friends.

Speaking of friends, he really wanted to talk to Billy again, even if it wasn't about what seemed to be bothering him. Spencer speed walked into the kitchen and ran into Hugh's back.

_"Omph!"_

"Well, hey there sport! Where's the fire?" Hugh greeted, pushing a tray of cling wrapped leftovers into the fridge.

"Sorry dad, I just wanted to tell you and mom-"

"Is everyone done cleaning up?" Jane interrupted, walking into the kitchen with a half empty tray of deviled eggs.

Spencer nodded "Yup! Shanilla and Rajeev went home and threw out the trash, and Mr. Peace went home too, so, can I go to bed now?"

Jane smiled and wrapped her free arm around Spencer. "Okay sweetie, you get some sleep. You have a big day hanging out with your new friends tomorrow, so no staying up and playing video games, okay?"

Spencer hugged his mom and nodded eagerly, rolling his eyes when she mentioned his video games. "I'm way too tired to play anything now mom. I'll go straight to bed, promise. G'night dad!"

"Sweet dreams Big Guy!" Hugh said.

Spencer gave Hugh a quick hug and raced off to his elevator. As the lift ascended, he tapped his foot anxiously. Billy was a laid back guy, and Spencer had grown somewhat used to his optimism and easygoing attitude. Sure, when they first met, emotions had been high, but Spencer had chalked that up to being the first person Billy had really talked to in three years. After they started hanging out, things had fallen into a sort of routine, and Billy became a reliable source of fun and entertainment.

This party had changed all that in a very upsetting way. Tonight, they'd not only gotten into the first serious fight they'd had in two weeks, but Spencer had seen a whole new side of Billy's life, and Beverly Heights. Both seemed to have somewhat murky backgrounds and left a bad taste in Spencer's mouth.

If Spencer was being honest, while he'd meant it when he'd said he wanted to help Billy uncover the truth about his disappearance, they whole thing had fallen to the background of Spencer's mind quickly after. There just didn't seem to be any opportunities for him to help, and Spencer was only 16, there wasn't much he could do that other full grown adults hadn't. He'd quietly relented the responsibility to Adam after the bodyguards initiation into their 'ghost group' and ever since, the thought hadn't really crossed his mind.

After tonight, Spencer wasn't so sure he could do that anymore. Sure, he didn't know if he could uncover anything important to the investigation, but he now new he could do something. Apparently, Billy had a memory problem, and without outside help, Spencer didn't know of anyway he could fix that. If he wanted Billy to respect him and support him, he needed to try doing the same. Maybe helping the ghost reconnect with himself was it.

The elevator jerked to a stop, pulling Spencer out of his thoughts as the grate doors swisher open.

"Billy…?"

Billy turned around and smiled, lowering himself from the ceiling to a few inches off the floor.

"Hey Spence, what's up?"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy didn't know what to think of himself like this.

On one hand, he couldn't believe he was dead. Not when he not only didn't remember dying, but didn't even get a proper funeral. He'd spent the past three years thinking and feeling and seeing just like when he'd been alive! Without any semblance of closure, he just couldn't comprehend it!

On the other hand, he _wasn't_ alive. There was _no way_ he was. He was probably a ghost, or at least very similar to one. He hadn't really needed to do things living people did for three years now! People needed to breathe, people needed to eat, people needed to sleep, people weren't _invisible!_ How could he be alive if he didn't even do the basic things needed to pass as real, much less alive?

During his time in solitude, he'd once spent an entire month binge watching eleven seasons of trash TV without moving a single translucent muscle. He'd drank an entire bottle of mango shampoo just to see if it tasted as good as it smelled! He'd gotten a phantom (pun not intended) itch at the back of his head that was so annoying he'd used a kitchen knife to scratch at it and almost fainted when he'd realized the knife had phased straight through his forehead! That just. Wasn't. HUMAN!

As Billy floated around Spencer's room in deep thought, he realized something incredibly depressing.

That incredibly depressing thing being? He needed to figure out what the heck he was, because he wasn't was he'd been convincing himself he'd been for three years. He just wasn't anymore. If he didn't find out how he worked, who knew what would happen?

More importantly, he needed to come to terms with what he wasn't, because no matter how much he wanted to believe it, he wasn't lost. He'd never been lost, at least not in the way he'd been hoping. He wasn't trapped, wasn't dreaming, and there was a good, very highly probable chance...that he wasn't coming back.

All it took was seeing someone wait three years for him to come back for him to realize it.

"Billy…?"

Billy turned around and smiled, lowering himself from the ceiling to a few inches off the floor.

"Hey Spence, what's up?"

Billy's smile wavered as Spencer came over to him with a concerned look in his eyes. He'd been hoping to not worry Spencer too much, but there was no hiding how bummed he felt. Still, he didn't want to voice his internal monologue or any of his other worries to his friend until after he went over it all with Adam. He'd never forgive himself if he accidentally said something to Spence that upset him.

"So…" Spencer sat down on his bed, patting down the sheets as he tried and failed to look casual. "How are you doing dude? Do you want to...talk about it?"

Billy crossed his arms and frowned at Spencer's poor delivery, then sighed and sat down next to him tiredly.

"Not right now duder. Sorry. I'm just...still thinking things through, y'know?"

Spencer nodded, giving Billy is undivided attention and obviously trying really hard to be understanding. At seeing the way Spencer had placed his hands neatly in his lap and was sporting the most earnest _'I'm here for you.'_ face he'd ever seen, Billy couldn't help but smile, huffing out a small laugh.

"What?" Spencer asked self consciously, crossing his arms and blushing slightly as Billy clapped a hand over his mouth to cover his grin. "What's so funny? _Hey!_ I'm being thoughtful right now, so you can just-"

"No, no! You're- _hehe_ -you're doing great! I appreciate it dude, really."

The teen huffed and side eyed Billy as he stopped giggling and clapped Spencer on the back.

"I'm sorry! You're just super cute when you're trying to be adult Spendragon!"

Spencer smiled begrudgingly as Billy's mood seemed to brighten and raised his brows smugly.

"This is coming from the guy who cried and had to hold my hand when we watched Warring Earth Y?"

Billy pouted at the reminder of that fateful night and turned up his nose haughtily.

"I was holding your hand to make sure _you_ were okay! And I wasn't crying, I'm just allergic to excessive violence and severed heads!"

Spencer rolled his eyes at Billy and uncrossed his arms.

"Oh yeah, sure. And I suppose reading you a bedtime story to calm you down was for my own safety?"

"As a matter of fact, it _was!_ You can learn a lot of important life lessons from Storytime Adventures, you should be thanking me!"

Spencer snorted at Billy's ridiculous excuse and Billy quickly relaxed his defensive posture, chuckling in good humor at their playful spat. He'd never get tired of trading barbs with Spencer in good fun. Billy thought over his relationship with Spencer for a moment and smiled as he realized just how great it was.

Spencer was a good kid and Billy couldn't have asked for a better person to find him. He honestly still felt like there was more he could be doing for the kid in return. Maybe he should think about it differently? Adam had told him Spence just wanted his support, not money, not fame, not advice. If he wanted to be a better friend, may be he just need to show more interest in what Spencer liked? That sounded like a good idea! Maybe…

"Hey Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

Billy looked around at the teens grotesque horror movie memorabilia, Spencer's vampire themed curtains, and the overall Halloween-esque decor of their room.

"Why do you like spooky stuff so much?"

Spencer opened his mouth to respond, then after a moment, closed it again.

"Hmmm...What do you mean exactly?"

Billy gave Spencer an unimpressed frown and waved his hands around wildly to gesture to literally everything in their room.

"UM? What _don't_ I mean? You've got a serious horror vibe going here Spenknife!"

Spencer blushed and rubbed his arm as Billy grabbed one of his zombie figurines and held it like a lawyer holding the murder weapon in court and showing it to the jury for evaluation. Spencer huffed and swiped it from the ghosts hand, then set it aside and sighed.

"Okay! So I like horror stuff! It's not a bad thing!"

Billy held up his hands placatingly. "I'm not saying it's bad, dude. I'm just curious why you seem to like it all so much."

Spencer looked Billy over critically for a few moments, then slumped forward and rested his chin in his hand.

"Well, I guess I just like this stuff because...Maybe it just makes me feel in control?"

Billy cocked his head and Spencer shrugged as he continued.

"I mean, I know most of this stuff isn't real and all, but I guess I feel brave being able to handle it, you know? Like, if I can learn the ins and outs of all this, maybe I won't be so scared when I deal with other things, like standing up to someone or whatever."

Billy nodded in understanding, looking around the room and seeing all the zombie movie posters and and gorey souvenirs in a new light.

"So, does it help?"

Spencer laughed quietly and shook his head. "No, no it doesn't. You'd think it would though, right? I mean, I can handle a four hour screamer marathon and not even flinch, but I can't even stand up to a bully at school!"

Billy frowned at Spencer's self deprecating tone, then smiled and nudged the teens arm encouragingly.

"Well, maybe at your old school, but here? You've done a ton of super brave stuff, dude!"

Spencer raised his eyebrows in interest, but still looked unconvinced. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Billy sat up a bit and held up four fingers, counting off with each example.

"Well first off, before you knew I wasn't a poltergeist or something, you stood up to me, and I'm a ghost! Second off, you got kidnapped and managed to escape like a boss! And thirdly, there was the whole Lolo thing, which was super awesome by the way! And fourth! Fourth, uh…"

Billy looked down at the last finger he had up and frowned. "And...I held up too many fingers." He mumbled.

Spencer chuckled and was about to respond, but Billy quickly continued.

" _Wait!_ Wait, wait! Franken blanket! You were the one who gave me the scissors! That was _super_ brave!"

Billy grinned at Spencer triumphantly as he counted off the last finger, puffing out his chest as if he'd just called himself brave instead of the other way around. Spencer smiled unconsciously at the fact that Billy was taking complimenting him so seriously and without much thought found himself pulling Billy into a warm hug.

"Thanks Billy."

Billy beamed down at the teen and gave him a happy squeeze, patting Spencer's head and internally congratulating himself on a job well done. He'd not only managed to make Spencer happy by being a supportive ninja, but he'd also managed to take Spencer's mind off worrying over him.

Billy ruffled Spencer's hair to the teens chagrin, and dodged Spencer as he tried to reciprocate, floating up into the air and sticking his tongue out.

"No fair! Come down here and face me like a man!"

Billy crossed his arms and looking thoughtful for a second, lifting a few inches higher when Spencer tried to jump and grab him.

"Any way I can convince you to come up here and face me like a ghost?"

Spencer tried jumping up a few more times before just falling into his bed in defeat.

"Yeah. No dice. The whole ghost making process sounds a little too permanent for me."

"Worth a shot." Billy said.

The ghost looked down at Spencer, watching as the teen yawned and rubbed at his eyes. Spencer had had a long day, he should probably go to sleep.

"Dude, get your PJ's on and get some shut eye, you look my manager when we went on tour."

Spencer pouted and groaned, rolling himself into a blanket burrito and grumbling something into the blankets.

"Sorry brotato, I don't speak adolescent sleep cycle!" Billy teased, grabbing onto one side of the burrito and pulling, unraveling Spencer and and picking him up by the armpits before he could fall off the bed.

"Now go put on a sleeper suit, brush, floss, and get ready for bed!"

Billy pulled Spencer into a standing position and pushed him towards the bathroom, grabbing a pair of PJ's and tossing them inside along with him and shutting the door.

Billy looked back at Spencer's messy bed and untangled the blankets and sheets so the once again resembled actual covers instead on a cloth ball. Going to bed in tangled blankets was always a drag. As Billy fluffed up Spencer's zombie themed pillow, he suddenly remembered Spencer's zombie blanket scraps.

He'd been thinking about patching it up for a while now, but never really got around to it. Maybe tonight he could get started on that? He didn't really need to sleep, even if it felt nice to do sometimes.

"Okay, I'm ready for sleep now." Spencer said as he exited the bathroom, somehow looking even more tired than when he went in. He had a small toothpaste stain on his cheek and night shirt, and Billy was starting to see the beginnings of some bags under his eyes.

"Wow dude, I know it's been a long day, but staying up late does _not_ suit you." Billy said, cringing slightly as Spencer stumbled over to his bed and fell face first into the blankets, not even bothering to push the rest of himself into the bed.

"I didn't even realize how tired I was until, like, two minutes ago…"

Billy carefully pushed Spencer's legs onto the bed and and pulled his blankets up to the teens chin.

"I don't know whether to thank you, or be weirded out by how maternal your being. You don't have to tuck me in you know." Spencer asked, looking amused as Billy pouted in response.

"Do you have any idea how many people would give an arm and a leg to be tucked in by me? You should feel honored, but if that's how you're going to be, no bedtime story for you!" Billy huffed, floating away and turning off the lights.

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Wow. What a shame. Well, goodnight Billy!"

Billy flew over to the couch and stayed silent for a second, then sat down and hummed thoughtfully. "Night Spence... _Good_ night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one goes out to a fan on Fanfiction.net! Happy Birthday dude! I'm actually reposting this story from there, so if you want these chapters a few days before they come on here, check me out there, I have the same name.
> 
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> TheGrimDanny, that’s a really good question! I was originally going to write an ecofeature fic, which is why I wrote Jane as being Billy’s god cousin instead of his actually cousin. After getting down the general plot and writing for a bit, I really wanted to center the story, so I pushed that to the side. Not that I’m 16 chapters in, I’m not sure if I still want to implement the ship, and if I do it’ll be as a side thing, not the main plot. 
> 
> After much intense thought, I’ve come to the decision that I’ll leave it to a vote! If the readers want ectofeature, then I’ll lead to that eventually, but if people don't then I’ll just go with what I’ve got. If you comment or message me a yes to ectofeature and I get more yes’s than no’s, then that’s what I’ll do, the same goes for people who message or comment a no. I’ll leave the voting up till I post chapter 20, and then I’ll tell you guys the final decision!


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